American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US Military History―A Navy SEAL's Memoir of War and Family

A very enjoyable read, I finished the book start to end in two days. I knew about Chris Kyle from watching some of his television interviews where he discussed his book and his run in with Jesse Ventura and later the reports of his death at the gun range at the hands of Eddie Ray Routh. As I was reading the book I was reminded of my experience with some UDT guys in the early 1960s while I was serving on submarines as a radioman on the USS Trumpetfish SS425 out of Squadron 4 in Charleston S.C. The operation was for us to drop them off while stilled submerged just offshore of Jacksonville FL and they were to go ashore and survey the beach and then come back and be picked up again while still submerged. On the way to Jacksonville they wanted to get in an hour or two of exercise every day. Chris mentioned in the book that it was difficult for them exercise on a nuclear boat due to the cramped space and I just thought, you should have tried it on a WWII era submarine. The best they could do was a few calisthenics and run in place. When we were submerged a few miles offshore of Jacksonville Beach a few of the guys made egress via the escape trunk with their rubber raft that was fitted with a small outboard motor. After they were clear of the boat we surfaced and the off duty watch section got to go topside so we could watch them in action. A young LTJG who was in charge of the operation was watching the progress via binoculars and after they were a couple of miles away he said "Damn, the motor stopped and Jones will never get it started again". He stripped to his swim trunks and put on the largest set of swim fins that I have ever seen and went over the side and took off swimming and it looked like he was moving faster than I could have run. He got to the raft and climbed aboard and restarted the engine and was back in the water and swimming back to the boat. He made it back just as fast as he went out. When he climbed back aboard about ten of us white hats were talking to him and ask him how long he could hold his breath. Without hesitation he said, "I can stay underwater without tanks about five minutes" to which we all said, "No way". So that was the basis of a bet and all of us pooled our money and came up with about $50 that said he couldn't do it. He took the bet and went back over the side. We all spread out and posted some guys at the bow and stern and each side to make sure that he wouldn't surface and sneak a breath. After about 5 and ½ minutes he resurfaced and was not out of breath or looked like he was stressed in any way and with a big smile he collected his winnings. The ashore crew headed back to the boat and we submerged again and raised the observation scope and very slowly made a pass by the raft where the UDT guys lassoed the scope and we towed them back into deeper water where they came back aboard via the escape trunk without us having to surface. It wasn't till later that the LTJG owned up and told us that he had swam under the submarine and climbed through one of the flood ports into a dry ballast tank where he waited the requisite 5 minutes. We tried to protest but he maintained that the bet was that he could stay underwater without tanks for 5 minutes and not that he would hold his breath that long. We relented and let him keep the $50 just for having the balls to climb up in a dark ballast tank in the first place. Ever since that trip I have had the upmost respect for the UDT and later the SEALS for their skill, conditioning and training.

American Sniper, The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History was written by the late Navy Seal Chris Kyle. Because of my military background I found the book extremely interesting but I also believe it would be enjoyed by civilians having never served. Chris was an ordinary guy. He grew up of a middle class, Christian family in Texas. He went to high school, tried college and did some time as a real cowboy working on a ranch. He went on to join the military and become a Seal, a feat in itself considering that only 10% of the sailors who enter the rigorous training program go on to complete it. He continued on to be one of the best Seal snipers in history. Writing was not one of Chris's fortes though. His book is written in plain language and can be rough at times. I found that down to earth, every day, brutally honest, not sugar coated approach very appealing. Others, who are looking for a great literary piece may not. American Sniper is not all blood and guts, as many war stories are. It is heartfelt. It has some graphic details but it also shows emotion, good and bad. Chris talks of his loves; God, Country and Family, even telling of the trouble he sometimes had with the order of Country and Family. It includes sections written by Chris's wife Taya that show the emotion the military family waiting at home experiences. My wife read the book and loved it. Having been a military spouse for many years and very politically involved she had heard Chris's story on the news, bought and read his book and recommended it to me. She could relate to many of the stories, having heard me tell similar ones. I served as a Seabee, performing some of the tasks for the Seals that Chris discusses. Our paths may have crossed somewhere in Kuwait or Iraq but I didn't know him personally. However, reading his story made me feel like I did. It is rare for someone with his experiences to relay them to others, especially the world in a book and especially to do it so well. After a short introduction, the book chronicles Chris's life. It starts with his childhood in Texas, goes through his teenage years and on to college. He writes very candidly about the things he did and mistakes he made. He appears to have had a bit of a wild streak, getting into an occasional fight, riding bulls and then broncos in the rodeo before getting hurt, eventually giving up college to become a cowboy then joining the military. He tells of wanting to be in the action, not in a military job on sidelines. He details boot camp and then on to BUDS (Seal training). Chris is extremely patriotic and truly believed in his mission of defending our country. He takes the reader through each deployment, including the enemy, kills he made, his comrades, injuries he and others received, working with the Marines, the Seabees, the Polish Grom (special forces) and even the heartbreak of loosing friends to the war. Toward the end of the story he tells of the difficult decision he faced in leaving his career and his brothers in arms for his beloved family. Chris's story has action, emotion, patriotism, sacrifice and most of all the sense of a very humble man doing a job most could never even imagine. From where I served, supporting missions of men like Chris, I may have a little better understanding of the things he's done and experienced, but his story, told not in a format for military but for civilians truly gives the reader insight into the heart of warriors like Chris and many who serve our country. With chapter titles like; "The Devil of Ramadi", "Man Down", "The Punisher", "Family Conflicts", "Down in the Shit", "Dealing Death", "Mortality" and "Home and Out", it is evident that this is much more than a war story. I highly recommend it for everyone. It educates readers on what our military members do for our country and I hope gives them a greater appreciation for their sacrifice.

J'ai adoré le film et voulait en savoir plus sur le personnage.... Le livre est très bien aussi. Il met en exergue ce qui faisait courir Chris Kyle : Dieu, son pays et sa famille. Normal alors qu'il croit dans le bien, dans le mal et qu'il n'a aucun remords sur le fait d'avoir tiré sur les "bad guys" qui voulaient tuer des américains. Le livre est parsemé des pensées de sa femme qui mettait Dieu, la famille et son pays en tête de ses objectifs. D'où des difficultés de couple. Dans tous les cas, même si on ne partage pas le point de vue de Chris Kyle, ce livre est authentique et instructif. Je vous le conseille vivement.

I really enjoyed this book. I love Navy Seal stories, and this one is very VERY good. Totally recommend.

Se você gosta de livros de guerra, esse é um bom livro. Muito legal a historia do Chris.

This book is the best in read I ages , I couldn't put it down ,,an excellent story , highly recommend this, he was a true gentleman& legend

The Legend Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper, it's a great bestseller military book if you like to read military history this what you should get .