American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms

American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms by Chris Kyle with William Doyle"American Gun" is an action-packed journey through American history through the barrels of ten noteworthy firearms. As the late-great hero Chris Kyle stated, "I've picked ten guns to serve as the flagship weapons for our America's past." Navy SEAL Team 3 Chief, Chris Kyle, with commendations too long to list, trainer and author of the Naval Special warfare Sniper Doctrine along with award-winning author William Doyle provide the public with a real treat. This riveting 320-page book is composed of the following ten firearms (chapters): 1. The American Long Rifle, 2. The Spencer Repeater, 3. The Colt Single-Action Army Revolver, 4. The Winchester 1873 Rifle, 5. The M1903 Springfield, 6. The M1911 Pistol, 7. The Thompson Submachine Gun, 8. The M1 Garand, 9. The .38 Special Police Revolver, and 10. The M16 Rifle.Positives:1. Engaging story-telling and a clever way to go through American history. "Guns have always been present at the leading edge of American history--often crucially."2. A fascinating topic in the hands of an American hero who tragically passed while writing the final stages of this book. A page turner.3. Excellent format. Each chapter introduces the firearm in chronological order and proceeds to expertly immerse fascinating historical stories about it.4. Plenty of diagrams and photos that add to the reading experience.5. Kyle does a wonderful job of capturing the action-packed scenes of American history. Bravo!6. A great book for people who normally wouldn't be enticed by firearms but are in fact interested in American history. I can't stress that enough.7. Gun enthusiasts will be happy to know that despite Kyle's goal to make this book accessible to the masses he delivers in providing technical essentials of each firearm. There is also an excellent Appendix titled, "The Ten Guns, by the Numbers" that provides a useful synopsis.8. A great selection of firearms. Kyle expertly describes each firearm with gusto. He provides the advantages and disadvantages of each weapon while also mentioning other weapons and influences.9. A great selection of historical events are included here and then some. Ranging from the revolutionary war to Iraq, and everything in between. Many lesser-known battles as well but no less interesting.10. In an unintended way the book serves to cover the evolution of weaponry. As the reader gets acquainted with some of the firearms Kyle skillfully uses that as a basis of reference to highlight limitations and the need for improvement.11. The men behind the weapons. Kyle digs into the history of the inventors and the specific improvements made. As an example, the Winchester 1873 Rifle.12. Does a wonderful job of describing the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon in terms of functionality and purpose. "The big daddy of all Plains rifles was the post-Civil War Sharps Big 50, the quintessential powerhouse buffalo gun. This piece contributed directly to the shaping of America by powering the final expansion of European settlers across the continent."13. Movie stars and presidents (and future presidents) and their weapons of choice.14. The story of how America became an international power.15. Kyle's favorite sniper weapons.16. Favorite gangster weapons. "America's most infamous public enemy of the era was undoubtedly John Dillinger, a Hollywood handsome bank robber who used the Thompson as his withdrawal slip."17. The gun that saved the world...find out.18. The history of .38 Specials. Famous firearms from other countries...like the Glock, AK47.19. Famous attempted assassinations.20. The evolution of the machine gun.21. Heartfelt afterword and source notes.Negatives:1. This book was written for the masses and so historical gun enthusiasts (who already have a great grasp of its history) may want to pass on this.2. No links to source notes.3. No formal bibliography.In summary, I really enjoyed this book! What a fun way to learn about American History and the firearms involved. Chris Kyle will be missed but I am grateful for his service and the historical knowledge he left behind. I highly recommend this book!Further suggestions: " American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History " by Chris Kyle, "The Life and Legend of Chris Kyle: American Sniper, Navy SEAL" by Chris J. Mooney, " Glock: The Rise of America's Gun " by Paul M. Barrett, "No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden" by Mark Owen, "The Red Circle: My Life in the Navy SEAL Sniper Corps and How I Trained America's Deadliest Marksmen" by Brandon Webb, " SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper " by Howard E. Wasdin, and "Massad Ayoob's Greatest Handguns of the World" by Massad Ayoob.

Awesome book, and easy to read. I can't recommend it enough. Gives a good helping of American history and a bit of the technical aspects of the weapons themselves.I read American Sniper and enjoyed it thoroughly, so I probably would have been game for anything Chris Kyle would have written. As it turns out he wrote a history book, I love history! An American history book... I love America too! And it is about guns? The hell you say! It seemed right up my alley. It was the first book I ever pre-ordered. I devoured it in three sittings, it was extremely easy to read.The best thing about this book is that is American history in vignettes, there are dozens of short stories related to the gun in that chapter. He does not dwell on the dates, just the awesome stories behind the firearms. Some of my favorites are:Tim Murphy and his Kentucky Long Rifle as he shot an English Officer while crouched in a tree, the world's first recorded Sniper shot. He goes on to explain how the Americans, not only owned their guns but relied on them to survive in the frontier, while the British conscripted people, handed them a gun and sent to a foreign land they hated. The advantage - Americans.The Winchester '73 - The story of the Dalton Gang, duel bank robberies, and the first and only government supported gun grab. The leader gets away by stuffing the money in his clothes only to bleed out in an alley adjacent to the town square the rest of the gang died in.The M1911 - This is my favorite hand gun, sorry the Glock sucks, and the story of a World War II paratrooper shooting down a Japanese Zero pilot as he was drifting to the ground over enemy territory in Burma. He gets captured, and treated with respect by his captors for his amazing feat.The Tommy Gun - This is one gun I don't see on this list, but the history is no less thrilling. During WWII (again) some American soldiers were in a Jeep racing away from the enemy. One of the ones sitting in the back assembles a Tommy gun through the erratic getaway driving and shoots off the following vehicle. Amazed, his brothers in arms ask him were he learned to do that. He replied decades earlier, in his teens, he did it many times when he used to work as a bootlegger for Al Capone and would shoot at the cops chasing the vehicles.Since author used the weapons himself, it comes across as somebody who knows what the hell they are talking about. Good book from a true American hero. American history told through the eyes of our country's ten most Iconic Firearms. Since I enjoyed this book so much, I have since bought a few other copies, I gave one to a gun nut survivalist buddy of mine in Colorado, one to my uncle who is a life long NRA member, and one to my dad who just loves the cool stories.

Interesting history of the firearms and circumstances surrounding their use and by whom. Avoided the bland historical school type lesson but added personalised accounts of famous and infamous users of said firearms and the circumstances. I am thoroughly enjoying this book as I did with its predecessor 'American Sniper'. A tad gung-ho, America saved the world, really? But it has to be remembered that both books are centred around American firearms and equally big American characters.

This fine book is a wonderful legacy that Chris Kyle has left us, if you want a brief history of some of the most important and interesting firearms in the world, this is on the nail.Very well written and researched, could not put this down!

Interesting book looking at the firearms that influenced the development of the United States.Kyle, the former SEAL sniper of American Sniper fame, is obviously a gun-nut but he's smart enough to acknowledge that guns are just tools.He adds enough history and humour to make this book a fascinating read.Each chapter is about a different weapon and time period, and the quirky tales make it very entertaining.

An excellent read for anyone interested in an expert user's opinion. Somewhat folksy but has some good insights into American history. Only found one error - the British Lee Enfield .303 bolt action rifle is referred to as taking 5 rounds ... my recollection is 10 rounds.

If you are interested in military history, firearms or just looking for something different to read, this is a great choice. Interesting and factual but with a lot of history. I personally found it fascinating and enjoyed it all.