Review of American Sniper, by Chris Kyle.
Finished American Sniper last night.
It is a very good book.
But.
The language was hard, but not unexpected of a SEAL.
His wife's language was just as hard, not expected of a lady.
I can't say I enjoyed the book, as it is not a book to be enjoyed, but to relate Kyle's story of his life, mostly his SEAL life.
He did a good job of getting the facts on the page, without getting bogged down in minutiae that would detract from the narrative.
I don't know how much someone without a military background would really get out of the book.
It has a lot of battle stories in it, and not just what you could read in any book, but first hand accounts of what it was like for him and his fellow Warriors in Iraq.
Stories like this are best appreciated by those who have had some combat experience.
Not necessarily as SEALS, but living in a war zone.
Those of us who served in Viet Nam will understand a lot of what he relates.
Just because we were under attack, and dealing with lack of intelligence in the upper echelons of the military and the government.
Now, for someone who is really in to Combat Arms, even if they did not serve in the military, the descriptions and explanations of and about the weapons he used as a Sniper, will be of great interest.
All-in-all, I would not hesitate to recommend this book to someone interested in what was really going on in Iraq, with the caveat about the language.
It is mostly very casual use of the “F” word, and it's derivatives, and the scatological word for defecation, not Blasphemy.
It is a sad thing that Chris Kyle was shot and killed, by a fellow Iraq veteran, at a target range in the Dallas area.
His funeral procession was over 200 miles long, as it wended its way to Austin for burial in the Texas Veteran's Cemetery.
Reading accounts of his actions in Iraq, apart from his book, makes me wonder why he was not awarded the MOH, or the Navy Cross.
I suspect the majority of our military members are much like Kyle, dedicated to doing the job they were sent to do, and not for glory, but for country.
Kyle, like many in the Military, put his "job" before his family.
He and his wife openly and honestly speak to the problems and inner comflicts that brougth about.
However, they dealt with it, not just shoved it under the rug and hoped it would go away.
That is one of the most telling aspects of his character and that of his wife.
Eventually, it came down to what was more important, war or family.
I'll let you read the book and decide if he made the right decision.
I think he did.
I know that coflict, as I got a marginal APR becuse I was more dedicated to my family, after my first wife died, than I was to the Air Force.
That kept me from getting promoted for too long a period.
Unitl that APR was buried with more recent ones.
Read the book.
I don't think you will regret it.
It is in paper and your library probably has it, on paper or on-line.
Jim Too