In the first part of this engrossing account, Eric Greitens describes the experiences that led to his decision to become a Navy Seal. During college, he taught English in China and was questioned by police who wanted names of students who asked about American rights and civil liberties. Then he worked with Croatian refugees in Bosnia, volunteered at a shelter for street children in Bolivia, and with Rwandan refugees in Zaire. In each place, he learned from people who had endured so much and found ways to go on. These experiences influenced the way he felt about the world, and he decided it was no longer enough to help after some tragedy or brutality; he wanted to prevent them from taking place. After time as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he joined the military. The second part of the book details his rigorous training to become a Navy Seal—including Greitens’s constant reflection on the reasons behind some of the exercises that push him and his fellow recruits to their physical and psychological limits. After serving in Iraq, Greitens established a non-profit that provides fellowships to wounded veterans to do service work in their communities. Greitens narrative is fascinating and highly engaging, with “Choose Your Own Adventure”–style openings to each chapter, but his constant reflection is also thought-provoking. (Age 12 and older)

As a humanitarian, he helped aid workers heal orphaned children in Rwanda and lived in camps alongside Bosnian refugees. As a warrior, he excelled at the hardest military training in the world and teamed up with fellow SEALs to hunt al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq. In this adaptation of his memoir, The Heart and the Fist, Eric Greitens brings his adventures to life for teens, sharing stories of friendship, struggle, and hard-earned wisdom. His exciting journey takes readers across the world, from his boyhood home in Missouri, to a factory in China, to the refugee camps of Rwanda, to the battlefield in Iraq. Through his service, he shows how we can all make a difference. Along the way, Eric speaks directly to teens through narratives that allow readers to exercise their imagination and broaden their horizons.--From publisher description.