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hayleybeale's review against another edition
3.0
Eric Greitens is clearly an exceedingly admirable, intelligent and compassionate man and this is an easy to read, exciting and moving biography of his time helping in places like Croatia and Rwanda. His thoughtfulness about being "not just a help to people after they'd been hurt, but part of a force that could offer strong protection in the first place" leads him to join the Navy SEALs and to a gripping section about trials and training. However, he ends up in Iraq and the elephant in the room about why the US is there (and in Afghanistan) is never even touched on - and I suspect thoughtful readers will want to know how this fitted into his world view. Nevertheless, his post-SEALs project 'The Mission Continues' sounds exemplary. The structure of the book - a series of 'What would you do?'s - will catch readers' interest even if the questions are a bit loaded in favor of what Eric did.
dawn_dickerson's review against another edition
3.0
It was good. Based on reviews I expected it to be GREAT. Life-changing. And it wasn't. It was just a moderately intriguing story of one fellow's humanitarian and SEAL training. The highly praised "you" sections came off cheesy and not really thought provoking.
literaryfitz's review against another edition
1.0
This is one of the worst books I’ve ever read! Eric Greitens is yikes as a person too…
abrick's review against another edition
5.0
Really loved the "what would you do?" situations presented in the book
froydis's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2 stars -
This was quite an interesting book; I have very little understanding of the military life, and this was great in showing what the soldiers go through, especially in their training. A good story.
This was quite an interesting book; I have very little understanding of the military life, and this was great in showing what the soldiers go through, especially in their training. A good story.
krissyronan's review against another edition
1.0
Didn't read past the first 10 pages so I can't really offer a true review but not what I expected and a bit didactic for my taste.
i_glow's review against another edition
3.0
A good story about Eric Greitens' life, written by himself, and the struggles he faced, the decisions he had to make, and how he was a better person because of it. The book was written to encourage young people to be compassionate and courageous, to make decisions for yourself that would help other people. Eric Greitens asks you to be a servant to others, in whatever way you can, wherever your life may lead.
Throughout the book there are chapters directed at the reader, placing them in certain situations in which a decision has to be made. They are hard decisions. "What do you do?"
I enjoyed the last half of the book the most, when he was in BUD/S training, especially when the guys got delusional and said hilarious things that didn't make sense. That made me laugh. I also liked a lot of the lessons he had learned that he shared with the reader.
Overall, it was an interesting read that can challenge you to really think about things and shows that you can make a difference in other people's lives either by the little things you do to serve, or the big things you do, if you have the courage and the compassion to do so.
Throughout the book there are chapters directed at the reader, placing them in certain situations in which a decision has to be made. They are hard decisions. "What do you do?"
I enjoyed the last half of the book the most, when he was in BUD/S training, especially when the guys got delusional and said hilarious things that didn't make sense. That made me laugh. I also liked a lot of the lessons he had learned that he shared with the reader.
Overall, it was an interesting read that can challenge you to really think about things and shows that you can make a difference in other people's lives either by the little things you do to serve, or the big things you do, if you have the courage and the compassion to do so.
books10's review against another edition
5.0
Inspiring book that my son had to read for school. He enjoyed it and thought I would too. Eric Greiten’s is someone who walks the walk, a person of action, and someone who stands out as a leader in whatever he does. He gave up the opportunity to work at Oxford, and to make tons of money in consulting, to go through SEAL training and serve his country. We need more people like this!
theartolater's review against another edition
4.0
I don't normally enjoy nonfiction memoirs about soldiers or wars or things of the like. It's not really my interest area, it just never catches me. This book, by a Navy SEAL, is a little more than that. A teen adaptation of an adult book, it works better because it's focused on his entire life of service as opposed to simply the stuff that really makes a splash in the news as of late.
The book follows the author as a teacher in China, a documentarian in Rwanda and Bosnia, finally ending in the Navy looking toward the SEAL program. It maybe spends a hair too much time in the pre-SEAL business, but the point of the book is less about SEALs and more about service, so there's nothing wrong there.
The SEAL training is put together in significant detail here, which was eye-opening for me and gave me a great appreciation for the hard work they put in. Absolutely the right book for the right kid, and may actually be a worthwhile read for people who may not be interested in the adult takes on this specific story.
The book follows the author as a teacher in China, a documentarian in Rwanda and Bosnia, finally ending in the Navy looking toward the SEAL program. It maybe spends a hair too much time in the pre-SEAL business, but the point of the book is less about SEALs and more about service, so there's nothing wrong there.
The SEAL training is put together in significant detail here, which was eye-opening for me and gave me a great appreciation for the hard work they put in. Absolutely the right book for the right kid, and may actually be a worthwhile read for people who may not be interested in the adult takes on this specific story.
zbayardo's review against another edition
4.0
Great book to encourage teens to choose to live a positive life helping their fellow man.
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