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May- Book Reviews
May. 14th, 2015 04:48 pmAmerican Sniper by Chris Kyle. I read Kyles' best seller book and I am almost hesitant to review it. There's a cult around Kyle and certain people seem to think you cannot speak ill of him, and find it their patriotic duty to make comments (internet tough guy!) around anyone who possibly might defame (not even defame but disagree with) him. So I feel like writing this will provoke at least one person to yell at me on the internet. Though I suspect he would be ok with it, Glenn Beck is probably the person in the last year who has used Kyle's name for knee-jerk patriotism, and has probably done the best job of anyone of making money off of what Kyle did.
There's a lot of strong opinions on both sides and life being shades of grey, I don't really fit comfortably on either extreme. The Kyle that emerges in the first 50 pages of this book is not a likeable guy. While Kyle probably did fancy himself a 'rowdy redneck', he comes off as a jerk at the beginning of the book, always getting in fights and generally not being a likeable guy. Though, one also tends to suspect maybe the editor or co-authors goaded Kyle to adding in more 'color'.
After we get past boisterous youth, the real Kyle seems to come out. This is not fancy literature. It's Kyle telling his stories. Some people may have wanted more out of this book, but that generally is what I expected, and Kyle just cuts loose.
The movie with Bradley Cooper did a good job of humanizing the sniper and showed him grappling over his decisions. The real Kyle in the book does not seem to have that emotional struggle, but giving him his room to speak humanizes him too. Kyle's philosophy is essentially if I don't snipe these people, my friends will die (Kyle does have a code against killing kids). It's hard to fault his logic, even as pacifistic or liberal you may be. Kyle may be politically incorrect and certainly think Sadaam Hussein caused 9/11, but his heart is generally in the right place, in that he has a job to do.
In which case, you realize Kyle is not much different than you or me. He is a soldier, but he is also our co-worker, our neighbor, our high school best friend. Kyle probably never wanted to be the mouthpiece he has become. He saw that he had a job to do and he did it.
We really don't talk about our wars, so I don't think most Americans realize that the guy (or gal) in front of them at the grocery store or mechanic shop has this amazing tale to tell. Kyle would certainly not stand out in a crowd.
Indeed, I have had many friends who have served, and their personalities and lives are many and varied. You can accuse of Kyle of being 'gung ho', and if you have that 'gung ho' buddy in the army, Kyle is just like him. Maybe you have take their story with a grain of salt (and take everything they say and divide by ten percent). That said, we need 'gung ho' guys in the military. You can't ask Kyle to be anything else.
So that's what you are getting. Kyle talks us through his training and his tours, telling many of the stories that were put into the movie. It's pretty light reading, and your interest into his military life will probably determine your enjoyment level. If you aren't that interested in the military, you aren't probably going to be too interested in this. Kyle's wife writes a lot in between chapters, though I am not sure it makes Kyle look any better (He consistently chooses Patriotism over Family. Some will applaud that, others will have a hard time with Kyle repeatedly taking assignments while he has young kids at home).
I still don't think a lot of Americans get or appreciate what our soldiers have gone through and dangers they faced overseas. This book helps remedy some of that. (Even if Kyle is brash, it hits home that he is just an American who loves his country). I can't say that there's particularly any new insight (Bureaucrats often make terrible choices in wartime, etc). There's no grand plan of discussion on military history or will it move to inspire people. It's Kyle telling his story, and it is an interesting one.
The Strange Case of Dr Terry and Mr Chimes- by Terry Chimes - This came up as a 99-cent ebook, and I couldn't resist, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.
I am a huge Clash fan, and Clash fans should know Chimes as the drummer on the first album (he left, legend has always said for being too Right-wing) and taking over again on the Combat Rock tour when Topper Headon had drug problems.
Chimes also spent some time backing Billy Idol in Generation X, touring with Hanoi Rocks (immediately after the death of Razzle) and a brief stint in Black Sabbath (the Tony Martin years).
It was worth it for me for just all the anecdotes from all of these bands. As a Clash fan, there's stuff in here that you probably wouldn't hear anywhere else.
There's nothing earth-shaking in here, and it is certainly not the event that a Strummer or Jones book would be. That's the curse of the sideman, there's plenty of those books on some people's shelves (I got John Densmore's for example, but also the Ron Woods or Dave Davies of the world)
Still, Chimes has led a very interesting life, to the tune that surely everyone tells him he should write a book. Chimes is very straight-laced in a world that is anything but. He is clean, teetotal, and vegetarian. He left the rock world after touring with Sabbath and opening with the Clash for the Who to start a second career as a very successful chiropractor.
Chimes can tell a story, and though this a light read, there's plenty of great bits in here. Chimes's purpose in writing this book seems to be to inspire and uplift, and what's probably most surprising is that he does that really well. Indeed, this book seems to be more successful at inspiration than many books that strive to do that thing explicitly.
I expected to enjoy it, but I didn't think i would like it as much as I did. I thought things would go south when he got into the chiropractic and acupuncture side of things (ostensibly the last half of the book), but you have come to love the guy at that point, and he seems honestly wanting to help people. I would say read it for the Clash stuff (because that's what I did) but you will get more out of it than you think.
There's a lot of strong opinions on both sides and life being shades of grey, I don't really fit comfortably on either extreme. The Kyle that emerges in the first 50 pages of this book is not a likeable guy. While Kyle probably did fancy himself a 'rowdy redneck', he comes off as a jerk at the beginning of the book, always getting in fights and generally not being a likeable guy. Though, one also tends to suspect maybe the editor or co-authors goaded Kyle to adding in more 'color'.
After we get past boisterous youth, the real Kyle seems to come out. This is not fancy literature. It's Kyle telling his stories. Some people may have wanted more out of this book, but that generally is what I expected, and Kyle just cuts loose.
The movie with Bradley Cooper did a good job of humanizing the sniper and showed him grappling over his decisions. The real Kyle in the book does not seem to have that emotional struggle, but giving him his room to speak humanizes him too. Kyle's philosophy is essentially if I don't snipe these people, my friends will die (Kyle does have a code against killing kids). It's hard to fault his logic, even as pacifistic or liberal you may be. Kyle may be politically incorrect and certainly think Sadaam Hussein caused 9/11, but his heart is generally in the right place, in that he has a job to do.
In which case, you realize Kyle is not much different than you or me. He is a soldier, but he is also our co-worker, our neighbor, our high school best friend. Kyle probably never wanted to be the mouthpiece he has become. He saw that he had a job to do and he did it.
We really don't talk about our wars, so I don't think most Americans realize that the guy (or gal) in front of them at the grocery store or mechanic shop has this amazing tale to tell. Kyle would certainly not stand out in a crowd.
Indeed, I have had many friends who have served, and their personalities and lives are many and varied. You can accuse of Kyle of being 'gung ho', and if you have that 'gung ho' buddy in the army, Kyle is just like him. Maybe you have take their story with a grain of salt (and take everything they say and divide by ten percent). That said, we need 'gung ho' guys in the military. You can't ask Kyle to be anything else.
So that's what you are getting. Kyle talks us through his training and his tours, telling many of the stories that were put into the movie. It's pretty light reading, and your interest into his military life will probably determine your enjoyment level. If you aren't that interested in the military, you aren't probably going to be too interested in this. Kyle's wife writes a lot in between chapters, though I am not sure it makes Kyle look any better (He consistently chooses Patriotism over Family. Some will applaud that, others will have a hard time with Kyle repeatedly taking assignments while he has young kids at home).
I still don't think a lot of Americans get or appreciate what our soldiers have gone through and dangers they faced overseas. This book helps remedy some of that. (Even if Kyle is brash, it hits home that he is just an American who loves his country). I can't say that there's particularly any new insight (Bureaucrats often make terrible choices in wartime, etc). There's no grand plan of discussion on military history or will it move to inspire people. It's Kyle telling his story, and it is an interesting one.
The Strange Case of Dr Terry and Mr Chimes- by Terry Chimes - This came up as a 99-cent ebook, and I couldn't resist, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.
I am a huge Clash fan, and Clash fans should know Chimes as the drummer on the first album (he left, legend has always said for being too Right-wing) and taking over again on the Combat Rock tour when Topper Headon had drug problems.
Chimes also spent some time backing Billy Idol in Generation X, touring with Hanoi Rocks (immediately after the death of Razzle) and a brief stint in Black Sabbath (the Tony Martin years).
It was worth it for me for just all the anecdotes from all of these bands. As a Clash fan, there's stuff in here that you probably wouldn't hear anywhere else.
There's nothing earth-shaking in here, and it is certainly not the event that a Strummer or Jones book would be. That's the curse of the sideman, there's plenty of those books on some people's shelves (I got John Densmore's for example, but also the Ron Woods or Dave Davies of the world)
Still, Chimes has led a very interesting life, to the tune that surely everyone tells him he should write a book. Chimes is very straight-laced in a world that is anything but. He is clean, teetotal, and vegetarian. He left the rock world after touring with Sabbath and opening with the Clash for the Who to start a second career as a very successful chiropractor.
Chimes can tell a story, and though this a light read, there's plenty of great bits in here. Chimes's purpose in writing this book seems to be to inspire and uplift, and what's probably most surprising is that he does that really well. Indeed, this book seems to be more successful at inspiration than many books that strive to do that thing explicitly.
I expected to enjoy it, but I didn't think i would like it as much as I did. I thought things would go south when he got into the chiropractic and acupuncture side of things (ostensibly the last half of the book), but you have come to love the guy at that point, and he seems honestly wanting to help people. I would say read it for the Clash stuff (because that's what I did) but you will get more out of it than you think.
