Becoming a Man of Compassion and Courage - The Warrior's Heart

The following review is written by my 13 year old son.

I have no doubts that you need to be a people person to be a Navy SEAL; there was a Discovery Channel documentary I watched that proved that. Mr. Greitens, judging from the events of the book, fit the bill perfectly. Half "Choose Your Own Adventure" and half informational, The Warrior's Heart gives you a look into volunteering establishments in countries like Bosnia, as well as a little taste of what being a SEAL requires of you. There's also a couple segments here and there called "WHAT WOULD YOU DO?", that puts you in Mr. Greitens' shoes in the situations that come in the next few paragraphs, which are kind of cool; makes you really think about the decisions he needed to make in this book.

Mom's note:

A great read for any young man interested in not only the Navy SEALs but also in how they themselves might make a difference by making good choices. Most importantly for me, a good choice for any mom wishing to expand her teen's world view. A good solid read for young teens by a truly inspiring American.

I teach high school (English) so I'm always looking for teen books aimed specifically for boys and this is one of those books! I was AMAZED at how accessible this book is! The writing is personable, easy to read, and makes you feel like he's sitting in a coffee shop having a conversation across the table. The story is about his journey to become/be a Navy Seal, but within it are lessons of hard work, integrity, and being more than what people see you for. These are great lessons for anyone, but especially for teenage boys and the way it's written, the author doesn't slap you in the face with it, he just explains how he needed those things to be successful! It offers up challenges to the reader to be a better person, but marries that with practical advice on how to go through life with integrity, purpose, and meaning. Overall, this is a great book and I will be recommending it to ALL of my students!

Just finished The Heart and the Fist and feel like I have a lot to think about. At the heart of the book is the author's internal struggle between action and inaction, thinking about what the right thing is, what the solution to a given problem is, and doing the right thing, becoming an active part of the solution to a given problem. There were a number of other important messages from Greiten, too; each person has unique gifts that are valuable to his or her community and that to withhold or deny your innate gifts/talents is unacceptable; purpose and service elevate community as well as self. You are the master of your own ship in life. Additionally, there is an important message, in my opinion, for national policy-makers: empowering victims to help themselves far trumps swooping in and helping them after the dust has settled.

As a high-school English teacher, I am actually contemplating adding this title to my summer reading program. I think it is a great book for all young people to experience.

This is an inspiring book, and not just for young people. What is a good man? This book presents a very good picture of what is a good man. When you read the whole book, you see lots of views of good men. You see what makes people able to do more. You see what leadership means.

I don't know anything about the author's work with veterans, but I would bet it is excellent. It seems that as he has gone along in life, he has sought to expand his knowledge and his abilities, and in the process he has learned that courage and compassion are both important. Both vital, in fact.

This book is well worth your time to read. Perhaps especially for men, but also for women. Men and women are different, and women need to gain understanding of men. This book helps with that, too.

Eric Greitens received a degree from Duke University in ethics, philosophy, and public policy. He was then selected as a Rhodes scholar eventually earning a PhD from Oxford University. As if these accomplishments were not enough, Greitens was also a boxing champion and a Navy SEAL. However, this is not all. It seems there is no challenge - physical, mental, or intellectual - that Greitens has not tackled.

By any standard, Greitens is an impressive individual - one who has dedicated his life to humanity and service to others. Greitens worked as a humanitarian volunteer in Rwanda, Cambodia, Albania, Mexico, India, Bosnia, and Bolivia. His latest book, The Warrior's Heart, is a young adult adaption of his New York Times bestseller, The Heart and the Fist. In The Warrior's Heart, Greitens recounts his life lessons and experiences as both a humanitarian and a warrior.
Greitens's eagerness to serve others took him to far-flung parts of the world. While in college he volunteered to work in Croatia and Bosnia with The Project for Unaccompanied Children in Exile. There, he helped children and refugees attempting to recover from the devastating conflict they had experienced. While working in Bosnia Greitens realized that great intellectual theories and ideas could not prevent catastrophes. To avert heinous atrocities such as the genocide in Rwanda and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, one must also be willing to act. "The great dividing line between words and results was courageous action. And sometimes that action meant the use of force," Greitens writes. Most often the United Nations and NATO become involved in conflict-ridden areas in the wake of violent upheavals. Greitens writes that he decided during this time to become part of a force that "could offer strong protection in the first place."

Determined to help protect the weak and to find a more effective way to continue humanitarian work, Greitens grew in support of the use of force. The world is marked by violence, Greitens states, and to put an end to it, we must be willing to fight. Therefore, rather than pursue an academic career at Oxford, Greitens joined U.S. Navy SEALs because, he writes, "The SEAL teams would give me little, but make me more."
After serving in Iraq as commander of an al-Qaeda targeting cell, Greitens founded The Mission Continues - a national non-profit organization that challenges and prepares veterans to serve in their communities after completing service in the military. Greitens writes that his experiences in Croatia and Rwanda taught him that the best way for people to truly recover from conflict's ravages and to feel whole was to continue to serve people around them. Therefore, in the chapter titled "Your Mission," Greitens urges teen readers to serve their fellow man: "I am asking you to serve because we need you. We need you to use all of your unique gifts to make a difference in a way that only you can. There is almost no problem in the world that is not being solved by a young person somewhere."
"The Warrior's Heart" is a powerful, inspiring book. This extraordinary book is beautifully written and serves as living testimony that one individual can make a difference in the lives of many.

There are two things which really pique my interest...our Navy SEALs and stories about my home state of Missouri (been recently transplanted to Oklahoma but I am still a Missouri boy at heart).

Eric is a down-to-earth average kid who grows up to do things with are oh so much more than average. In college, he studies abroad in China and almost starts an international incident just teaching English. His Chinese students start asking him questions about democracy, the Constitution, the basic freedoms we enjoy as Americans, etc. After word got out, he was detained by the Chinese police and they demanded that he give the names of the students who had asked the questions. That bravery under fire is just a precursor of what's to come as he embarks on a journey which takes him from boxing champion, to Navy SEAL, growling-n-prowling SpecOps trooper, a commission directly from the President to founding a nonprofit to help veterans lead in their communities.

Like all biographies or autobiographies, the subject matter is a bit dry, but I found Eric's writing style is easy to access, contained in fairly small bite-sized pieces/chapters. With humility and much compassion, Eric describes how he started with rather humble beginnings to lead an extraordinary life.

It's a nice read of a true American hero.

Before I started reading this book, I already knew this book was aimed for a teen audience so I was expecting a watered down version of Eric's book "The Heart and the Fist." I liked the intro and how Eric explained where he came from and what motivated him to become a SEAL. However, you don't even get to his SEAL training until near the end of the book. I think he should have gotten to his SEAL training sooner as this is a book about his journey of becoming a SEAL. Overall, I would recommend this book to a friend or anyone else that is interested in learning about the type of person that becomes a SEAL.

Young readers will enjoy The Warriors Heart. It is entertaining, fast-paced and easy to digest. The stories deal with some very serious topics but at (the right) times are hilariously funny.

I expected a more dense book from someone of Greitens' accomplishments, so it was surprising to me that he wrote a book specifically for young adult readers. For young boys and men, this book can be an inspiring lesson into how to balance the great ambitions and unknowns in their lives and gain perspective from someone who has stood in some challenging shoes. This book, like Mr. Greitens' other efforts, is not for the wayward or the derelict. Mr. Greitens focuses like a laser on the young men that are looking to achieve greatness in their lives and in this regard he succeeds enormously.

As always, Mr. Greitens exemplifies the good man in his stories; he is able to manage an authoritarian tone with a generous helping of humility. Mr. Greitens continues his American ethical revival with The Warriors Heart. I sincerely hope there will be a third, more mature version of Mr. Greitens' philosophy entered into the national discussion.

This is a brilliant book. It is a seamless adaptation of Greitens' previous memoir The Heart and The Fist, designed to help young people to connect the dots between the story that they are writing about themselves and the inspiring life story of a true contemporary hero. Teens will find in Greitens a relatable, entertaining and--perhaps most importantly--trustworthy writer, teacher and role model. As a young person, I can testify to the significant sense of authenticity in his voice. The integrity of this man shines through not only in the actions he has taken and the decisions he has made throughout his life, but in his delivery and style as he discusses watershed moments in his development. The book effectively and beautifully showcases Greitens' instincts as a great leader and worthy role model: readers will look up to him, while he, rather than talking down to us, lifts us up. In a genuine effort to show young people their own potential, he is able to share his remarkable story in a way that makes him--even as a Rhodes Scholar and former Navy SEAL--appear to be just like any one of us.

Still, more than just a brilliant book, The Warrior's Heart is an important one. As a young person, I have come to hold Eric Greitens and his example of ethical leadership and public service very close to my heart. Young adults everywhere need young public leaders and thinkers like Eric to show us a path toward living meaningfully with great values and positive impact. Through this book and Eric's example, many young people will find the inspiration to reckon honestly with the often challenging realities of the world that they are inheriting, without losing the idealism and vision for the future that drives progress. Eric's simple mantra, that the world requires us to be both good and strong, to be both compassionate and courageous, is, I believe, an essential lesson for any young person trying to figure out how he or she might help to make the world a better place. As we grow up, we all need to know that we can maintain vision for a better world without being naïve, and that we can boldly explore the world and fully experience life without losing hope. Through a unique blend of philosophical and practical wisdom that is true to his own journey and development as a humanitarian, scholar and soldier, Eric expresses these notions with his words and embodies them in his deeds--again affirming his credibility as a guide and exemplar.

As a young adult who is close enough to the age of the target audience of The Warrior's Heart to feel its impact, but older enough to appreciate its potential, I give this book (and its predecessor, The Heart and The Fist) my highest recommendation. I wish that it had been available when I was in high school, and I hope that parents, educators, mentors, peer-leaders, and all those who work with young people and care for their development, will encourage the youth in their lives to use this book as a tool in discovering the world and their place in it. Eric Greitens' original and engaging way of reporting on his own extraordinary coming-of-age story will make reading this book an important step in their life stories too.

Although it was a compelling read, Greitens spends an entire book self-promoting. As it turns out, he is not a good role model for children as seen by the felony charges he faces for unethical behavior in the face of an extra-marital affair.

Excellent book with many moving and Inspiring messages. I read this book at the recommendation of a friend who recently joined the Navy. I read this book while training for a 4mile obstacle course(which for an out of shape board gamer was a feat) and found its story of determination and self betterment to be great motivation.

I have read many reviews that say this book has an underlying agenda and I have to say I disagree. The agenda is not underlying it is clear and present: SERVE. Do more than just for yourself, serve others albeit in the military or community service. Find a cause bigger than your self. People need help the world around and that is what (in my Opinion) the message of this book is about.

The Heart and the Fist was an excellent book, and The Warrior's Heart is a wonderful example of adapting a book to be age appropriate and yet meaningful. In reading it I feel students will learn lessons, not just history, but thought-provoking life lessons. It is well written, and is a great book to use in schools and at home. If families read it together and discussed the chapters, I am sure it would lead to some great discussions and life experience sharing for everyone. Although it was written for middle-schoolers, book clubs would enjoy reading it and discussing it too.
Great job Eric, keep it up!

Hero Eric Greitens does an incredible job in The Warrior's Heart to bring depth and context to some of the most difficult dilemmas that we face today. The Warrior's Heart is a perfect entry point for teens and young adults to continue their conversation about growing into a citizen and leader in their community and planet. The stories and probing questions in the book will give educators throughout the country an opportunity to showcase the complexity of our problems and contemplate with students the robust nature of the solutions that we face in years to come. Greitens is growing his hero status through his continued service through the publishing of The Warrior's Heart.

Greitens does a great job of showing how blessed we are as Americans. To have freedoms and laws that other Countries don't. My favorite part is before you read a section he tells yo the main point and asks "What would you do". I highly reccomend this to anyone and advise all who do to really think "What would you do"