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The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL
The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL
The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL
Audiobook10 hours

The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL

Written by Eric Greitens

Narrated by Eric Greitens

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

Like many young idealists, Eric Greitens wanted to make a difference. During college and afterward, he traveled to the world's trouble spots, working in refugee camps, serving the sick and the poor on four continents, from Gaza to Croatia to Mother Teresa's home in Calcutta, among others. Yet he could not prevent violence or save anyone from becoming a refugee; he could only step in afterward and try to ease the damage.

So Eric joined the Navy SEALs and became an elite warrior. In a moving and inspiring memoir, told with genuine humility, Eric offers something new in the history of military memoirs: a warrior who wanted to be strong to be good, only to discover that he had to be good to be strong. Throughout his SEAL training and deployments in Kenya, Thailand, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the lessons of his humanitarian work bore fruit. The result is a lesson for us all: the heart and fist together are more powerful than either one alone.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 11, 2011
ISBN9781452670966
Author

Eric Greitens

ERIC GREITENS was born and raised in Missouri. After earning a Ph.D. as a Rhodes Scholar and serving as a humanitarian volunteer overseas, Eric joined the Navy SEALs and later became the 56th governor of Missouri. A boxing champion and a decorated combat veteran, he is the founder of the nonprofit The Mission Continues and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Heart and the Fist.,

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Reviews for The Heart and the Fist

Rating: 4.576923076923077 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The first half (approximately) of the book was five star excellent. In it, the author talks about being in refugee camps in several places around the world. A bit about his school and the philosophy of helping those in need around the world. He asks some hard questions and tells some sad stories. Well written and moving.

    The second part of the book tells the author's experiences going thru Navy Seal training. Fascinating and difficult. The latter section of the book has a few stories of his Seal experience and then a little about a charity for vets the author started. It was a little disjointed and didn't have the same flow and depth as some of the previous material.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a first hand account of a humanitarian who decided to walk his talk in the fullest sense. He made of himself an elite warrior and then returned to his humanitarian roots back home in America. He demonstrates the power of focus and what is possible when we calm our fears by serving others. An incredible story worth reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was an outstanding book. For one thing, it was written by a Rhodes Scholar. For another, it stands apart from nearly all books on the topic of international relations. Most will take the side of pacifistic help, but don't fight or the other side of the coin: Kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out. I believe Mr Greitens sums up his theme well when he says: "The world needs many more humanitarians than it needs warriors, but there can be none of the former without enough of the latter.” I'd recommend this book for: Everyone
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great book. Eric is pretty modest, or so it seams, discussing his early education, getting into college, and then becoming a Rhodes scholar. He shows the need for both humanitarian and the warrior in today's word.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Highly recommended a raw and inspiring account of a life of service
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Book details both the need for humanitarian aid and military might to ensure the aid gets to the correct people. The author is a rare person who has been able to contribute directly to both missions. Eric Grietens appreciates the education he has received and that he has been blessed with the opportunity to with teams of special forces men and military members whose goal is to make the world a safer place to live. His message makes one appreciate the luck and benefits of being born American.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In The Heart and the Fist, Eric Greitens wrote a modern day hero story, at least for me. I totally enjoyed following his journey around the world as a volunteer and then into SEAL training and beyond. Greitens meets the challenges of today’s youth with a strength and maturity and leads the way for others to follow him into a stronger, deeper life. Greitens writes of the suffering clearly, but allows the humanity of the suffering to shine through. Instead of using his thorough education to fill his pockets, he shows others how it is possible to be educated and a warrior. His descriptions of SEAL training are interesting and eye opening, as are his observations as a ‘more mature’ trainee. I loved this book, and as a teacher, I wish I could get every teen-ager to read it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The news about Osama bin Laden caused me to want to learn more about the Navy Seals. This book was the first to catch my attention and was not the kind of book I expected it to be. I can see why it had five star reviews on Amazon. I had no idea Rhodes scholars like Eric Grietens would find themselves in the Navy Seals, but I'm glad they do. It restores some of my confidence in the US military and the often difficult job they do. Call this an antidote to the Jon Krakauer book about Pat Tillman, Where Men Win Glory.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A Missouri boy who grew up loving Choose Your Own Adventure books gets to do just that as he becomes an adult. Blessed with a good heart and a sound mind and body, he attends Duke University, spending his breaks from school doing service projects in China, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Bolivia.With a resume like that, it is no surprise that he becomes a Rhodes Scholar studying at Oxford. To do research on his humanitarian dissertation he works with Mother Teresa in Calcutta and travels in Cambodia, Mexico, and Albania, taking photographs and meeting the people on the streets and in refugee centers. He learned that compassionate assistance "meant nothing if a warlord could command a militia and take control of the very place humanitarians were trying to aid. The world needs many more humanitarians than it needs warriors, but there can be none of the former without enough of the latter." (125) He is offered a position at Oxford and in a consulting firm that would pay him more money than his parents made together. So what does he do? He enlists in the U. S. Navy with the hopes to become a Navy SEAL so that he could help "fight the world's fight."I can't say enough good things about this memoir that was entertaining, informative, and, most of all, inspiring. What a great choice for Missouri State to require its freshman class of 2014 to read and discuss with their professors in classes and small groups. I hope some of them are fired up enough to consider service to their communities and countries as a way to alleviate some of the suffering that goes on in the world. Tom Brokaw gets the message of this book just right: "At the heart of this powerful story lies a paradox: sometimes you have to be strong to do good, but you also have to do good to be strong. The heart and the fist together are more powerful than either one alone." Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fascinating memoir by a Rhodes scholar and Oxford Ph.D. who joined the Navy SEALs, served in Afrganistan and Iraq, and now runs a non-profit that helps disabled and wounded vets pursue humanitarian work. Earnest, thoughtful and insightful.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fast read with interesting perspective. Heavy on Seal training. Not just kill the bad guy more about communication and building relationships.