Chris Kyle, retired Navy SEAL
sniper, offers the inside story of what it’s like to be in war, fighting on the
front lines, as he supports American troops in Baghdad, Fallujah and Ramadi. In
a quick and interesting read, Kyle gives an account of his childhood weekend
hunting trips and his time as a champion saddle –bronc rider that ended in a
serious accident. He writes about his Navy SEAL training and the missions he
took with other troops. Because he had become a Naval Special Warfare sniper, he
went ahead of combat troops to scout locations and gave cover as Army and
Marine Corp units searched for insurgents during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He draws a picture of the enemy,
people living in a dark, twisted rule-free society, who sacrifice their
children and themselves in their fight against Americans. He characterized them
as “cowards who routinely used drugs to stoke their courage.” U.S. troops
fought terrorists and gangs, who attacked them in the streets and urban
environments, while the religiously extremist al Qaeda fighters confronted
convoys. He writes about the weapons he used and the training he brought to
other troops in house-to-house search missions.
The enemy named him “Devil of Ramadi” and placed a $20,000 bounty on his
head because he had over 150 confirmed kills.
Kyle’s wife, Taya, adds her
recollections as a military wife and mother of two small children living in
California. Chris relates stories of various assaults, his injuries, ties to
his friends and his post traumatic stress to give the reader a front line
account of Americans in combat.
Following his release from the military, he established a firm that
provides military and law enforcement sniper training and volunteers to help
wounded warriors.
Kyle, Chris. American Sniper: the Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S.
Military History. NY: Harper Collins, 2012.
DS 79.76 .K95 2012
