American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History is an autobiography by United States Navy SEALChris Kyle, written with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. With 255 kills, 160 of them officially confirmed by the Pentagon, Kyle is the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history. The book was published by William Morrow and Company on January 2, 2012 and appeared on The New York TimesBest Seller list for 37 weeks. The memoir has sold over 1.2 million copies across all formats, including 700,000 copies in 2015 alone, making it one of the best-selling books of 2015. It landed atop all the major best-seller lists including the aforementioned The New York Times, and Publishers Weekly, USA Today and No. 2 on Amazon. Its film adaptation directed by Clint Eastwood and featuring Bradley Cooper as Kyle was released in 2014.
Plot overview
American Sniper tells the story of Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL who completed four tours in Iraq from 1999–2009. The book describes Kyle's upbringing in Odessa, Texas, Navy SEAL training, and combat experiences in Iraq. Kyle describes his role in the battle for control of Ramadi, events that led to Iraqi insurgents' nicknaming Kyle the "Devil of Ramadi" and placing a bounty on his head. Kyle writes that after his first confirmed kill, "the others come easy. I don't have to psych myself up, or do something special mentally—I look through the scope, get my target in the cross hairs, and kill my enemy, before he kills one of my people."
Reaction
Post-publication retraction
In July 2014, the sub-chapter "Punching Out Scruff Face" was removed from later editions of the book, after a three-week trial in U.S. Federal Court wherein the jury found that the author, Chris Kyle, had unjustly enriched himself by defaming plaintiff Jesse Ventura. In the book, Kyle described blackening the eye of "Scruff Face", whom he later identified in media interviews as Jesse Ventura. The jury awarded Ventura $500,000 for defamation and $1,345,477.25 for unjust enrichment. In December 2014, attorneys for Ventura filed a separate lawsuit against HarperCollins, the parent company of the publisher, for failing to check the accuracy of the story it used in publicity. The suit alleges that the false account used in publicity had "increased sales" and generated "millions of dollars for HarperCollins." On June 13, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the verdict on the defamation count, remanding the case for a new trial on that count, and reversed the unjust enrichment verdict outright. The court cited legal and procedural errors in the trial without deciding whether Kyle’s allegations were true or not. In December 2017, Ventura settled with Kyle's estate and dropped his suit against HarperCollins.
Charity donation claims
Some sources claimed Kyle's family had said all his book proceeds were donated to veterans' charities. Salon and National Review disputed the donation amount, asserting that around 2 percent went to the charities, while Kyle's family received $3 million.
Military record claims
In May 2016, The Intercept claimed that Kyle's autobiography "embellished" his military record, and that he had been warned by Navy officials about the inaccuracies before publication. Others, including co-author Scott McEwen, disputed this. On May 28, The Hollywood Reporter did an analysis, concluding that the newly released internal Navy documents were inconclusive — that the document that typically is the definitive record of military service matched Kyle's claims and that the Navy had not yet publicly stated this document or the facts within it were incorrect. Kyle's DD Form 214 listed a total of two Silver Stars and six Bronze stars, more than he claimed in his book. On July 8, 2016, the U.S. Navy corrected Kyle's DD-214 regarding some decorations listed on his original discharge document. The Navy revised it to one Silver Star and four Bronze Stars with valor. The Navy said "Kyle would have played no role in the production of his personnel files other than signing the DD-214 upon his discharge" and "fter thoroughly reviewing all available records, the Navy determined an error was made" and "issued a corrected copy of the DD-214, which accurately reflects Kyle's years of honorable and extraordinary service."
In 2013, after Kyle's death, a memorial edition was published which includes more than 80 pages of remembrances by his parents; his wife, Taya; his brother; lifelong friends; Marcus Luttrell and other fellow SEALs; veterans and wounded warriors; and many others.
