American Sniper

“I had a job to do as a SEAL. I killed the enemy—an enemy I saw day in and day out plotting to kill my fellow Americans. I’m haunted by the enemy’s successes. They were few, but even a single American life is one too many lost.”  

Chris Kyle’s autobiography centers on his remarkable record as a sniper, yet such achievements are played down in this early quotation. As an author, Chris presents his accomplishments as a routine “job”—one that, moreover, did not produce entirely satisfactory results in his mind.

“Somewhere along the way I started sticking up for the younger kids who were getting picked on. I felt I had to look out for them. It became my duty.”

As a child, Chris developed protective instincts that would serve him well later in life. In Iraq, he is not afraid to look out for his comrades by being the first man in combat—and, indeed, he often uses his skills as a sniper to protect soldiers who are placing themselves in dangerous situations.

“It was the repetition and constant stress, the abuse that came with the exercises, that made BUD/S so tough. I guess it’s hard to explain if you haven’t lived through it.” 

Chris’s precise descriptions are designed to give the reader an on-the-ground view of what he went through during BUD/S. However, as he acknowledges here, there are emotional and psychological aspects of such training that remain beyond the full comprehension of any reader who has not endured exactly the same rigors.