Synopses & Reviews
Eric Greitens is a modern day American hero. As a humanitarian, he worked with aid workers who healed orphaned children in Rwanda and learned from nuns who fed the destitute in Mother Teresa's homes for the dying in India. As a warrior, he has excelled at the hardest military training in the world and teamed up with fellow SEALs to hunt al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq. In The Warrior's Heart, an adaptation of his bestselling memoir, The Heart and the Fist, Eric brings his adventures to life for young readers, sharing stories of friendship, struggle, and hard-earned wisdom. His exciting journey takes young readers across the world, from his boyhood home in Missouri, to a factory in China, to the refugee camps of Rwanda, and to the battlefield in Iraq. Through all his service, he shows that no matter our age, we can all make a difference. Along the way, Eric speaks directly to teens through intimate second-person narratives that put readers in his shoes. He asks readers to consider various scenarios: Would you give up your friends if you could be freed from a police station in China? Would you take in a hungry refuge child if it meant less food for you? How do you keep your team strong during the hardest week of SEAL Team Training? Young readers exercise their imagination and broaden their horizons. By considering the power of choices, and their own power to serve, teens will be inspired to live every day with courage and compassion.
Review
"An uncommon (to say the least) coming of age, retraced with well-deserved pride but not self-aggrandizement, and as thought provoking as it is entertaining."--Kirkus, starred review
Review
"Readers of this book will gain insight into...the lives of immigrant families." Book Links November 2007 Book Links, ALA
Review
"[Jimenez] does a thorough job . . . of describing the difficulties, such as feeling unprepared and disadvantaged when compared to others, that some first-generation college students face . . . There are several kind-hearted mentors and benefactors . . . These gestures of kindness offer readers hope. This book is recommended for the library that already has the first two books on its shelf."--VOYA (3Q3P)
"No one who reads these life stories will forget them. Jiménez reaches out to let us walk in his shoes, feel his pain and pride, joy and sorrow, regrets and hope. All three books should be required reading for Californians. Students of Mexican heritage will see themselves. The rest of us will better understand what it takes to make this journey. And we'll all be hanging on for the next book."--Sacramento Bee, Living Here section (pg. D3)
"In this eloquent, transfixing account, Jimenez again achieves a masterful addition to the literature of the memoir."--Smithsonian Magazine, Best Books of the Year 2008
Review
"If you're in despair about America's future, meet my hero - Eric Greitens.
His life and this book reminds us that America remains the land of the brave and generous.
The heart and fist are just the combination we need." -Tom Brokaw
The Heart and the Fist might have been written in many countries, but its ideals seem to me to be quintessentially American, from and of the United States as she is at her best. That Eric Greitens--Rhodes Scholar, Navy SEAL, international humanitarian worker and founder of the veterans' aid organization, The Mission Continues--is an extraordinary individual goes without saying. But what resounds so powerfully in this book is his consciousness and drive, from the earliest age, not to cash in on his own abundant gifts but to find some path that was worthy of his highest self, some way to be of use, to make a contribution and to really live a life. This is very American. Mr. Greitens combines in one person the warrior ethos of toughness, courage and tenacity with the compassion of the humanitarian. This, too, is very American--not just to win wars or to impose our will or point of view, but to act in the service of others, on their own terms, to put others in touch with their own capacity to manifest this flame that burns so brightly in Mr. Greitens. If you're restless or itching for some calling you can't name, read this book. Give it to your son and daughter. The Heart and the Fist epitomizes--as does Mr. Greitens' life, present and future--all that is best in this country, and what we need desperately right now.- Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire
"Eric Greitens is exactly the kind of citizen-warrior that America needs to fight our wars abroad and to win our battles at home. A man wise enough to lead, courageous enough to fight, and compassionate enough to care, he has written a glorious book about how to live with purpose that should be required reading for every American."-Bobby Muller, Founder of Vietnam Veterans for America and co-founder of the Nobel Peace Prize Winning International Campaign to Ban Landmines
"The Heart and the Fist is a vitally important, powerful book, along the lines of Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence (aka "Lawrence of Arabia"). Filled with adventure, eminently readable, and an incredibly valuable look into the heart and mind of a great man who would serve to guide us into understanding an alien culture.
This book helps to bridge the gap between humanitarian groups and the military (the "heart" and the "fist" ... who are, all too often, truly "alien" to each other!), in the same way that Three Cups of Tea helps bridge the gap between the people of Afghanistan, and those of the West who would assist that nation.
As Three Cups of Tea and Seven Pillars of Wisdom have become mandatory reading in many military organizations, The Heart and the Fist is a seminal, paradigm-shifting work that should be mandatory reading for every military and humanitarian organization who would work together (who must work together!), around the planet, to make our world a better place.
And, even more importantly, this book should be mandatory reading for every citizen who cares about helping others, with our military or with our humanitarian efforts, in a world filled with starvation, suffering, tyranny, oppression and genocide.
This book has turned me into a believer in Eric Greitens' methodology and his cause. Among the first of many to come!" -Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Lt. Col. USA (ret), author of On Combat and On Killing
"If the United States is going to continue to be the indispensable nation in the 21st century, it is going to require an elite corps of both warriors and humanitarians that combine hard and soft power. Eric Greitens, both in his personal example, and in his book, points the way forward."- Robert D. Kaplan, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, author of "Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power."
"The Heart and The Fist is a defining profile of compassion, courage and commitment that gets to the heart of why we wear the uniform. From combat to the home front, Eric Greitens has demonstrated extraordinary leadership as a Navy SEAL, humanitarian and champion for wounded veterans. His powerful story is testament the service of this Next Greatest Generation that will continue long after the wars end."-Paul Rieckhoff, Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and author of Chasing Ghosts.
"Few men who become Navy SEALs enter this elite warrior fraternity with a background so rich in compassion, service, and cross-cultural awareness as did Eric Greitens. And few Navy SEALs have served the growing community of wounded warriors with such skill and dedication as has Eric Greitens and The Mission Continues."-Dick Couch, Author of The Warrior Elite and Chosen Soldier
"One would have to be mighty cynical to resist the power of Greitens experiences, and young Americans would benefit from contemplating his message...A remarkable story told with modesty and grace." - Kirkus Reviews
"A glorious tale of humanity, resolve, and strength, Greitens's book reminds us of how many things we take for granted in our well-ordered lives." -- Publishers Weekly
Review
"An uncommon (to say the least) coming of age, retraced with well-deserved pride but not self-aggrandizement, and as thought provoking as it is entertaining."
and#8212;Kirkus, starred review
"Adapted from the adult title The Heart and the Fist (Houghton, 2011), this volume has been rearranged, shortened, and streamlined in way sure to appeal to its new audience."
and#8212;School Library Journal
"In a young-adult marketplace crowded with fictional tales for and about teen women, it's a relief to discover a book that reaches through the miasma of video games and sports biographies into the minds and hearts of young men, especially one that is so well executed. An autobiography that seeks to lead by example, "The Warrior's Heart" largely fulfills its mission with a story that's as relatable as it is inspiring. ...[An] engaging and important book."
and#8212;Los Angeles Times
"In The Warriorand#8217;s Heart, this trained killer and humanitarianand#8212;this do-gooder warriorand#8212;urges his young readers to make the right choices as they march through life. I hope my grandchildren read his book."
and#8212;St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"It's no small feat to make a difference in somebody's life and Greitens has written a book that is a fitting honor to all those who have made a difference in his. By sharing these stories with young readers, he now has a chance to make a difference in a few more."
and#8212;New York Times Book Review
"The book's tone is wholesome, patriotic, and humanitarian, but not religious. The author's young manhood is presented as exemplary in its achievement of both strength and compassion."
and#8212;VOYA
Review
A
Kirkusand#160; Best Teen Book of 2012 "An uncommon (to say the least) coming of age, retraced with well-deserved pride but not self-aggrandizement, and as thought provoking as it is entertaining."--
Kirkus, starred review "Adapted from the adult title The Heart and the Fist (Houghton, 2011), this volume has been rearranged, shortened, and streamlined in way sure to appeal to its new audience."--
School Library Journal and#8220;Greitens describes his adventurous life in a manner that many teen boys will find inspirational."-- VOYA
"It's no small feat to make a difference in somebody's life. By sharing these stories with young readers, [Greitens] now has a chance to make a difference in a few more."--The New York Times Book Review
"[An] engaging and important book."--LA Times
Review
"The images are powerful . . . this is a book for many readers, who may discover an America they didn't know was here." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review
null The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
null Horn Book
null School Library Journal
Synopsis
Eric Greitens, theand#160;New York Times best-selling author of The Heart and the Fist, shares his adventures as a young man that led him to a life of service as both a humantarian and a Navy SEAL in this inspirational book for young adults.
Synopsis
In this adaptation of his best-selling book,
The Heart and the Fist, Eric speaks directly to teens, interweaving memoir and intimate second-person narratives that askand#160;readers to put themselves in the shoes of himself and others. Readers will share in Ericand#8217;s evolution from average kid to humanitarian to warrior, training and serving with the most elite military outfit in the world. Along the way, theyand#8217;ll be asked to consider the power of choices, of making the decision each and every day to act with courage and compassion so that they grow to be tomorrowand#8217;s heroes.
Synopsis
"'La frontera'...I heard it for the first time back in the late 1940s when Papa and Mama told me and Roberto, my older brother, that someday we would take a long trip north, cross la frontera, enter California, and leave our poverty behind." So begins this honest and powerful account of a family's journey to the fields of California -- to a life of constant moving, from strawberry fields to cotton fields, from tent cities to one-room shacks, from picking grapes to topping carrots and thinning lettuce. Seen through the eyes of a boy who longs for an education and the right to call one palce home, this is a story of survival, faith, and hope. It is a journey that will open readers' hearts and minds.
Synopsis
At the age of fourteen, Francisco Jiménez, together with his older brother Roberto and his mother, are caught by la migra. Forced to leave their home in California, the entire family travels all night for twenty hours by bus, arriving at the U.S. and Mexican border in Nogales, Arizona. In the months and years that follow during the late 1950s-early 1960s, Francisco, his mother and father, and his seven brothers and sister not only struggle to keep their family together, but also face crushing poverty, long hours of labor, and blatant prejudice. How they sustain their hope, their good-heartedness, and tenacity is revealed in this moving, Pura Belpré Honor-winning sequel to The Circuit. Without bitterness or sentimentality, Francisco Jiménez finishes telling the story of his youth.
Synopsis
From the perspective of the young adult he was then, Francisco Jiménez describes the challenges he faced in his efforts to continue his education.
During his college years, the very family solidarity that allowed Francisco to survive as a child is tested. Not only must he leave his family behind when he goes to Santa Clara University, but while Francisco is there, his father abandons the family and returns to Mexico. This is the story of how Francisco coped with poverty, with his guilt over leaving his family financially strapped, with his self-doubt about succeeding academically, and with separation. Once again his telling is honest, true, and inspiring.
Synopsis
In an inspiring memoir from one of the world's most elite warriors, Eric Greitens recounts in remarkable detail his time as a Navy SEAL—from the most harrowing encounters and brutal attacks, to the lessons learned from his humanitarian efforts.
Synopsis
THE HEART AND THE FIST shares one mans story of extraordinary leadership and service as both a humanitarian and a warrior. In a life lived at the raw edges of the human experience, Greitens has seen what can be accomplished when compassion and courage come together in meaningful service.
As a Rhodes Scholar and Navy SEAL, Greitens worked alongside volunteers who taught art to street children in Bolivia and led US Marines who hunted terrorists in Iraq. Hes learned from nuns who fed the destitute in one of Mother Teresas homes for the dying in India, from aid workers who healed orphaned children in Rwanda, and from Navy SEALs who fought in Afghanistan. He excelled at the hardest military training in the world, and today he works with severely wounded and disabled veterans who are rebuilding their lives as community leaders at home.
Greitens offers each of us a new way of thinking about living a meaningful life. We learn that to win any war, even those we wage against ourselves; to create and obtain lasting peace; to save a life; and even, simply to live with purpose requires us—every one of us—to be both good and strong.
About the Author
Francisco Jiménez emigrated from Tlaquepaque, Mexico, to California, where he worked for many years in the fields with his family. He received both his masters degree and his Ph.D. from Columbia University and is now the chairman of the Modern Languages and Literature Department at Santa Clara University, the setting of much of his newest novel, Reaching Out. He is the award-winning author of The Circuit, Breaking Through, and La Mariposa. He lives with his family in Santa Clara, California.
Table of Contents
Contents
Preface ix
I: MIND AND FIST
1. IRAQ 3
2. CHINA 12
3. BOXING 27
II: HEART AND MIND
4. BOSNIA 47
5. RWANDA 65
6. BOLIVIA 87
7. OXFORD 107
III: HEART AND FIST
8. OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL 131
9. SEAL TRAINING 144
10. HELL WEEK 164
11. ADVANCED COMBAT TRAINING 204
12. AFGHANISTAN 213
13. SOUTHEAST ASIA 234
14. KENYA 255
15. IRAQ 270
EPILOGUE: THE MISSION CONTINUES 285
Authors Note and Acknowledgments 299
Notes 303