Book Club Monday: American Sniper by Chris Kyle

American Sniper is one of those books that you read just to see what the fuss is about - at least it was for me. Like many others, I saw the movie in theaters and opted to pick the book up to see what they'd changed for the film. While they both stand on their own two feet just fine, I thought they complemented one another wonderfully.

The book's author, Chris Kyle, was a Navy SEAL with the highest number of confirmed kills in Navy history for a single sniper (I believe), and did a staggering four tours of Iraq, fighting in Fallujah and Ramadi - some of the most dangerous places in Iraq at the time.

Unfortunately, Chris was killed in February 2013 while at a shooting range with a couple of vets he had been trying to help with PTSD, as well as issues that arose after coming home from overseas. His killer was convicted earlier this year. While the book doesn't go into specifics about Kyle's death, I think it gave an insight into war that most civilians never think about - especially in the early 2000's, when the Middle East was rife with insurgency and, at least Iraq, had no governing body. The stories within the pages of American Sniper not only opened my eyes to this, but to how lucky we all are, as Americans, to have people as selfless as Kyle in our own armed forces so that we never have to see the reality of war first-hand, on our oil.

Throughout the book, there were small quotes from Chris' wife, Taya, which really helped me, as a reader, understand both sides of the story. Those portions of the book humanized Chris Kyle, for me, at least. Being the wife of a Navy SEAL can't be an easy job, especially amidst a war where she was raising two children alone.

As someone who appreciates our armed forces as an American, but not in the guns-God-government kind of way, I found myself feeling like I learned a lot from American Sniper, and got to see the other side of war, as I mentioned earlier. Whether you saw the film and are curious, like I was, or just looking for an interesting read, American Sniper is an excellent choice, and is definitely worth the read.