American Gun

A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms

By: Chris Kyle, William Doyle

Narrated by: John Pruden

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

At the time of his tragic death in February 2013, former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the most accomplished sniper in U.S. military history, was finishing a remarkable book that retold American history through the lens of a hand-selected list of firearms. Kyle masterfully argues that guns have played a fascinating, indispensable, and often under-appreciated role in our national story.

Kyle carefully chose ten guns to help tell his story, including the American long rifle, Colt .45 revolver, Winchester rifle, .38 police handgun, and M-16 rifle platform Kyle himself used as a SEAL. This is also the story of how American innovation, creativity, and industrial genius has constantly pushed technology - and U.S. power - forward.

©2013 Chris Kyle (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

An Important Look at US History

I'm pretty sure that I've seen all or nearly all of the programs on TV channels like the History Channel that profile "Top Ten'" firearms, warplanes and the like.

Chis Kyle's American Gun takes this idea one important step further and carefully considers the impact the each of his "Top Ten" guns played at critical points in the development of the United States.

This book is methodically researched as is evident with Kyle's accurate and detailed description of the infamous OK Corral shootout. However, what makes American Gun special is the way in which Kyle humanizes the characters that surround the American Guns he speaks about.

By doing this Kyle elevates American Gun far beyond a simple "Top Ten" list and leads the listener through an informative look at the role firearms, their designers and users played in the History of the United States.

As with American Sniper, John Pruden's narration works perfectly.

Recommended by a Lifelong Gun Enthusiast

Would you consider the audio edition of American Gun to be better than the print version?

Audiobook edition of this book is highly recommended by me.

Which scene was your favorite?

I love the part of the book talking about Abraham Lincoln shooting behind the White House at the trash dump.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Remember seeing Chris Kyles wife at the NRA annual meeting in Houston where she talked about helping finish the book that her husband had started before he was tragically killed by a mentally ill former colleague.

American history is gun history

Most everyone reading this review will be familiar with the late author, Chris Kyle. He is the current record holder for sniper kills in the US military. Having left the service after 11 years with the Navy SEAL as a Chief Petty Officer, he started his own sniper/precision shooting school Craft International.

This book cover the gamut of firearms history and how they have affected American history. From the Kentucky Long Rifle to the M16 he covers the ten most influential in his opinion. And then he lays out the reasons why. They book is full of fun historical facts and stories about history and the part the firearm design played in them. He covers the evolution of the model as well. For example when talking about the 1873 Colt Single Action he starts with the Paterson Colt and through the Walker, 1851 and 1860 Colt before getting to the SAA.

Having read American Sniper I know Chris is rather found of the old western American guns and the sections pertaining to them I found to be the best in the book. I enjoyed the book, its not a be all of history of the weapon or hidden tech data, but an overview of them and key moments in history. Its a great book and its a shame Chris was killed, I would have loved to read more from him.

Enjoyable. I wish there was more.

This is an excellent book if your are interested in firemarms. It has enough detail to be interesting but it doesn't overwhelm with technical jargon.

Great take on US

This is a great take on US history through the eyes of a true warrior and firearms expert. Thank you.

Good but a little short.

Would be great if the stories could be elaborated.
Although I enjoyed the audio book very much.

History from a different view

America has such a rich history and there are many views of it but this is a unique one that I haven't heard before . The writer brings a rich knowledge of our history from this different but important viewpoint and the narrator does an excellent job shareing with us his excitement and a passion for this history.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Pure Enjoyment.

I learned a great deal about Americas history that I had either forgotten or did not know. Thanks to Chris for a clear understanding of how firearms obtained and keep out freedom to this very day. He is sorely missed. Thank you Taya for keeping his dream alive through the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation.

Fantastic History Lesson!!

Great history lesson based on the guns of the times. I'll listen to this one again to make sure I got it all. Overall, FANTASTIC!

Awesome.

It was a good book to listen to. Remember it's his opinion but it's something everyone can learn from while listening.