Reviews

American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History by Chris Kyle

alwaysreadmore's review against another edition

emotional informative tense fast-paced

4.5

Helped me see a first hand experience of the war in the middle east through the eyes of a patriotic solider. Very personable tone. 

bhnmt61's review against another edition

3.0

There are nearly 6,000 reviews of this book, so I'm not going into a detailed summary. I'll just say it was hard to assign it a rating, because three stars is "liked it" and I did not like it at all. But I'm glad I read it. Parts of it are fascinating, and I learned quite a bit about the mind of a sniper. I'm not a pacifist, and I understand that sometimes violence must be met with violence. But the gleeful enthusiasm that the snipers had about collecting kills turned my stomach. I know Kyle would argue with me (if he were still alive), but I doubt he'd change my mind, just as I'm sure I wouldn't change his. Facing up to the grim reality of war is one thing, but being excited to get back "into the action" so he can start killing again is something else entirely. As far as I'm concerned, the real hero here is his wife. Worth reading, but it's not an easy read--not the least because it's not very well written.

amanda1793's review against another edition

3.0

I really enjoyed this book. A glimpse into what SEALs do is very interesting. I just found that at times (even though I was not reading the same sentence over and over and I was in fact at least a page away from the first same sentence), that the book was repetitive in the words, not the idea.

I found it interesting to read about the effects that war and battle and losing a fellow brother can have on a person. The more interesting part was how Kyle choose to alleviate the stress and pressure.

ollie965's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring fast-paced

4.5

jcaballero0725's review against another edition

5.0

I'm not sure why this book is getting any form of negative reviews. This is a man that wrote about his life. It was written in a way that you could almost be next to him hearing him tell you his story. He is a patriot, and served his country. His story is heroic and honest, I could ask for nothing more. Amazing book!

gerhardjoseph's review against another edition

1.0

My main problem with this book is the one-dimensional nature of Chris Kyle. There was no growth or development whatsoever in his personal story when it comes to his career as a Navy SEAL and his family life. This book is also over patriotic, fails to describe the nuances and complexities of war, and the depiction of Iraqis as nothing more than villainous creatures which deserve to be killed is a little troubling.

goblintrash's review against another edition

1.0

I had to read this for a book club and I could not force myself to finish it.

btbenner's review against another edition

5.0

A magnificent read. Kyle's writing is not only incisive into the psyche of a professional soldier, but it is conversational and readily approachable. He is straightforward and honest with everything: his extensive combat experience, his state of mind across his four deployments, his opinion of the top brass, and even just the small, quirky things in the course of service that a soldier remembers long afterwards. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and, in Chris Kyle's memory, I recommend it to any American.

angelabecker's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

forfoxsake's review against another edition

Soft DNF. Listening to a man be a martyr in war lost its appeal.
Try again later.