Context of the Book

This book spans a wide range of times, as it covers his life.  He begins with his young times starting in his childhood.  He was born in 1974, so the first memories he writes about begins in the 80's in his high school times.  He then tells his story through growing up, joining the Navy, training, time overseas, and family life after he left the service.  This happened in approximately 2009.

During this time, we were in multiple wars as a nation.  We had troops in Iraq, which is where Chris was stationed for the majority of his service.  We were also beginning to send troops to Afghanistan following the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centers.  Most of the story centers around his time in the service dealing with the things he had to do for our country in the war.

The war happened, and he was a big part of it.  But that's not why he was writing the book.  He says in an interview with Time Magazine (Find it here) that he write the book because he wanted to give credit where credit is due.  He had a lot of men out there in the field and in other locations that have died heroes, but they don't get the credit they deserve.

He also states that he is writing the book for the families that are left behind.  A major aspect of the book is the excerpts written by Taya, his wife, and how she and their family was affected by Chris being gone and in the service.  He wants to show them that it's okay.  Things are tough, but that they are able to make it through it.  One thing that he said in the interview that really hit me when I heard it was that he was writing to "show the sacrifices of the single mothers now raising the children."  This was because now his family unfortunately had to make the sacrifice, and they are living without him.

It's important to remember that people in the service don't usually talk about their time in the service.  Him writing this book was a big challenge, and officials higher up in the government had to review it for sensitive material.  I think it's really neat that he wrote the book, not to glorify himself as it has, but to honor and give credit to others.  That shows how much he cared for others.

Why I Chose "American Sniper"

I chose to read "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. History," by Chris Kyle because I had heard about it from another person at school.  I had heard her talking about it, and even read the introduction.  I had seen the movie and loved it, so I decided that when I got a chance, I would read it.  This has been a little under a year ago, and I had still not found the time to pick it up and read it.

When I heard that we would be reading nonfiction books that had to be American, this was the first book that came to mind.  I would be reading a book that I wanted to read, and doing class work at the same time.  I am also guilty of not doing reading for a class, so by reading a book that I was interested in and wanted to read, I am more likely to read it.

I am not reading this book because it is a movie.  I understand that in the movie (Spoiler Alert!!) he dies, and it is the story of his life.  Obviously, because it is an autobiography and is written by Chris Kyle himself, he does not die.  I am interested in seeing the thoughts behind what I have seen in the movie.  I want to see what he was thinking when he was going through the things he went through.  This is something a movie cannot show you.