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| Source: Amazon.com |
From the book's cover:
Gripping, eye-opening, and powerful, American Sniper is the astonishing autobiography of SEAL Chief Chris Kyle, who is the record-holding sniper in U.S. military history. Kyle has more than 150 officially confirmed kills (the previous American record was 109), though his remarkable career total has not been made public by the Pentagon.
In this New York Times bestselling memoir, Kyle shares the true story of his extraordinary decade-long career, including his multiple combat tours in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and elsewhere from 1999-2009.
Kyle’s riveting first-person account of how he went from Texas rodeo cowboy to expert marksman and feared assassin offers a fascinating view of modern-day warfare and one of the most in-depth and illuminating looks into the secret world of Special Ops ever written.
Review:
At times Kyle annoyed me with his machismo. Sorry to say, but there it is. At the same time, based on where my life is right now, I also envied him for being as tough as he is. His hardships seemed very sad to me, but also predictable, when based on his psychological traits and his lifestyle. To be honest, I lean more toward the critical side on this book. I think parts of it were worth the read. For some people, all of the book may have been worth it. But for me, the emphasis on Kyle's own life was a bit annoying at times, for reasons I have mentioned.
On the other hand, American Sniper gave an interesting perspective on the war in Iraq, and more specifically so on the life of a Navy SEAL. There were some poignant moments, but toward the end (sorry to say) it almost felt so cliché that I kinda got frustrated. Not to diminish Kyle in any way. Just that the stories seem so... 'been there, done that.' Maybe it is because so many of these sorts of accounts have so many similarities in them. Such as the desire to serve country first and foremost, then experiences of friends killed in action, accompanying survivors guilt, living fast and hard, and experiencing marital difficulties. It seems like a Hollywood script in some ways. But I guess art imitates life.
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| Principal author Chris Kyle / Source: NavySeals.com |
Basically, American Sniper was worth reading, but I was somewhat relieved in the end to finish. The last little bit was especially hard, as there was much gung-ho-ness and warrior spirit and the like. But that is who he is, so you take that as it comes. Two things come to mind on this matter. First, a person who has not been in the sort of situations, especially combat, can't really know how it is. I certainly don't claim to, no matter how much I have read on the subject. And so I'm glad for Kyle and others like him who are/have been out there and are now willing to tell their stories. And second, I'm glad guys like him are out there fighting on our side. We are damn lucky to have people like that who will put themselves on the line. As for The Cause itself... well, I never particularly agreed with our intervention in Iraq. But the men and women who served? We should honor them forever, because they do so much for our nation.
To put it in a nutshell, I thought the book was worth a read, even though it was difficult at times. The material annoyed me from time to time, and I won't deny it. But the book is worth reading if you want a more intimate look at the life of a Navy SEAL in recent times, and especially one who accomplished so much for his country. The content is adult, the language and violence is somewhat raw, but it is non-fiction and so it reflects the author telling his story. I recommend it only with the caveats that it is written in a certain way (not very balanced in what it covers, but whose biography truly is?) and should be taken as such.
And just in case you want a second opinion, here is a useful Amazon review about American Sniper which I agreed with:
Very broad stroke tale of Chris Kyle's career as a SEAL. Broad in the sense that there is very little detail on actual shots taken/contact with enemies (where he actually engaged targets in his capacity as a sniper).
I was initially going to review the book after having read the first 30% of it which left me a bit disappointed but I decided to give it a chance, and finished it before re-writing my entire review. I fully agree with some of the previous reviews that the writing could have been better and I have to admit that I actually started wanting to skip all the passages written by Chris's wife (Taya) entirely. It does give a bit of perspective on their private life but as a shooter I was more interested in Chris's actual accounts.
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| Image (possibly photoshopped) of a man carrying rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and a loaded launcher, presumably in Iraq. Kyle's narrative mentions situations like this one on several occasions. / Source: HQWallBase.com |
I found it very interesting (and initially a bit brazen) how Chris starts his book exactly the same way Carlos Hatchcock* did with his autobiography referencing having had to kill a woman the same way Carlos started his book having had to kill a boy. Later in the book Chris pays homage to Carlos so the similarity became understandable.
* Carlos Hathcock - technically the best sniper ever to have walked the earth and probably the best written Sniper autobiography to date)
Comparing the countless records on fighting in wars like Vietnam compared to modern day warfare in places like Iraq you cant seem to shake the feeling that the enemy guys like Chris face there just aren't cut from the same cloth. The Vietcong were a very formidable enemy, living the war and being excellent at guerilla warfare, tracking, planning and even having some superb snipers in their ranks. Reading Chris talk about his enemy using beachballs to cross a river in order to reach American positions (which he promptly shot resulting in them drowning), the enemy mostly being completely jacked up on heroin, being stupid and having NO clue how to actually fight (pot shots and stupid fighting) and talking about picking off enemy soldiers on a nightly basis (sometimes up to 3 a night) really gives the impression that its much easier to rake up a high kill tally than it was in past wars. Chris goes on to admit how much he admires Carlos Hathcock and that he admits he is not even in the same league saying that he got as many kills as he did because he was lucky in mostly being where the action was. Therefore reading about some of the kills leaves you feeling less than 'impressed'. That being said, what Chris has achieved and what he did for his country is nothing short of heroic and respectable.
Chris does go on to discuss some of the street fights (clearing building to building) he was involved in out of his own choice after swapping his rifle for a Marines m-16 in order to fight along side them as he felt he could be of more use to the marines he was assisting on the ground than he could be as over-watch (a large number of his kills were CQ kills), which is also highly respectable.
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| Sargent Carlos Hathcock, the foremost sniper of the Vietnam conflict. Hathcock was a major influence upon Kyle's book, and as the un-named reviewer from Amazon.com I included in my text states, Kyle's book begins in an almost identical manner to the one Hathcock wrote about his own experiences as a sniper. / Source: SofRep.com |
So...
- If you are interested in the technical side of being a Sniper and actual details on shots taken, there are better books (for a start Carlos Hathcock's autobiography, A 100% flawless must read!)
- If you're interest is purely in details of SEAL operations and their involvement in recent wars (Iraq) then this book will probably disappoint as it lacks detail. It is however very interesting to see how much the role of the modern day SEAL has changed (where and how they are deployed and how they operate as part of joint force missions with other branches of the US military).
- If you want to read about Chris Kyle for the sake of learning about him as a person, where he came from and a quick run-down on his kill record (with no detail on separate kills as they tend to be summed up as "...that day I killed 3..." then this book will probably be of interest.
All in all a good-ish book...couldn't say its $13 I'd spend again for the Kindle version, but not regretting having read it.
Here is a link to the review text cited above. Many thanks to the anonymous Amazon.com reviewer who penned it.
Learn more about American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History on Amazon.com
The parting comment:
Decided to tack the trailer for the recent film version of the book in here. Looks like they Hollywood-ized some of the moments from it. My wife suggested I watch the film and then do a "dual review." I decided against that. Someday I probably will watch American Sniper, but I am not in a hurry to see it. It was... well the book was enough for me, for the moment.
A two-for-one parting comment.
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| Source: LOLSnaps.com |
Truer words, eh?
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