Paying Tribute to Chris Kyle & 'American Sniper'

It's still hard to make sense of retired Navy SEAL Chris Kyle's tragic death at the hand of a fellow veteran this past January. Following last summer's posthumous publication of American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms, we're presented with American Sniper: Memorial Edition, an expanded version of his 2012 #1 bestselling memoir.

Chris wasn't famous long enough to plug himself into the carousel of public speaking and consulting gigs that would've secured his family's future. Steven Spielberg recently abandoned plans to direct a movie based on the book, so his heirs are left with the book.

This new edition is handsomely designed and includes more than 75 pages of new material and a lot of previously unpublished photographs alongside remembrances from close friends and family and tributes from high-profile colleagues and admirers. Essays from his wife Taya and fellow SEALs are especially moving. Marcus Luttrell, author of that other SEAL bestseller Lone Survivor, offers a tribute to a fellow Texan and even Glenn Beck weighs in with a remembrance transcribed from his radio show.

Anyone who knew or admired Chris Kyle would prefer that American Sniper: Memorial Edition didn't have a reason to exist, but this reissue offers a fitting tribute.