Heart of a Patriot: How I Found the Courage to Survive Vietnam, Walter Reed and Karl Rove [Hardcover]

Max Cleland (Author), Ben Raines (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2009

By the time he had reached middle age, Max Cleland thought he had nothing to live for. A grenade explosion in Vietnam had left him a triple amputee. He had lost his seat in the U.S. Senate, and in the grip of depression he had lost his fiancée, too. But instead of giving up, Cleland reaches deep into his soul and discovers that he has what it takes to survive: the heart of a patriot.

Born and raised in Georgia, Max comes back from Vietnam missing three limbs and is confined for months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Doctors don't give him much hope of living an active life, but through the bonds he forms with other wounded soldiers, and through his own Southern grit, he learns how to be mobile and overcome his despair. He returns home, where he pursues his passion for public service by becoming the first Vietnam veteran to serve in the Georgia state senate. Jimmy Carter then appoints him head of the Veterans Administration. From there he becomes Georgia's youngest secretary of state and ultimately realizes his dream of becoming a U.S. Senator.

But during his reelection campaign he is singled out by Republicans, who smear him as "unpatriotic." He loses his seat and begins another steep tumble. A long-dormant case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, awakened after 9/11 by the invasion of Iraq, pushes Max to the brink. Forty years after Vietnam, having reached -- and fallen from -- a pinnacle of power, Max returns to Walter Reed as a patient, surrounded by veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Among them, Max again finds the faith and endurance to regain control of his life.

In a memoir free of bitterness but frank about the costs of being a soldier, Max Cleland describes with love the ties America's soldiers forge with one another, along with the disillusionment many of them experience when they come home. He spares no one his humiliations and setbacks in this gut-wrenching account of his life in the hope it will keep even one veteran from descending into darkness. Heart of a Patriot is a story about the joy of serving the country you love, no matter the cost -- and how to recover from the deepest wounds of war.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cleland's memoir details his remarkable journey from smalltown Georgia to Vietnam to a U.S. Senate seat, his trajectory serving as scaffolding for a withering critique of the Bush administration's handling of September 11. America sends the flower of its youth abroad to fight its wars, he writes, describing losing both legs and one arm during his tour in Vietnam. From his friendship with fellow Georgian Jimmy Carter to a meeting with the young governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton, Cleland's life seems inextricably bound to the nation he has served. As such, the he and the nation share crises of confidence: both fall into bitter disillusionment over the Vietnam War, culture wars and political infighting, and Cleland is candid about his periods of depression and the counseling that renewed his faith in himself and his country. Concluding with a meditation on his frustration with the Iraq War—during which he helped to create, and later resigned from in protest, the 9/11 Commission—Cleland's life seems to once again be attuned to the national mood. Photos. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“The book is crisply written . . . Cleland and Ben Raines have produced an emotional and provoking book that fits his remarkable story into the broader context of the state of American politics since World War II. It is oftentimes uncomfortable, but always compelling.”

—Scotty E. Kirkland, The Mobile Press-Register (Alabama)

“Filled with bravery on many fronts and perseverance in life.”

—New Pittsburgh Courier

“A true profile in courage for our time.”

—Senator Ted Kennedy

“Powerful.”

—Paul J. Nyden, Charleston Gazette (West Virginia)

“Deeply moving and uplifting . . . Cleland is as big a man as you’ll ever meet.”

—Jon Land, Providence Journal-Bulletin (Rhode Island)

“A powerful testament to one veteran’s struggles and successes… A classic American triumph.”

—Roll Call

“Intensely honest and personal . . . Inspirational.”

—Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439126054
• ISBN-13: 978-1439126059
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #768,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring read that deserves your attention, November 4, 2009

By 

Richard C. Austin "historic reader" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart of a Patriot: How I Found the Courage to Survive Vietnam, Walter Reed and Karl Rove (Hardcover)

I wonder about the agenda of one review here. Can anyone seriously suggest that its less meaningful to lose both legs to a "friendly fire" incident in Nam instead of a NVA attack. Max Cleland was serving his country and in harm's way when he suffered an injury only those who have had similar can possibly comprehend fully.

Having said that, the present book does a wonderful job if establishing Max as a "typical" American kid who answered his nation's call and the result was truly a tragedy. Many, many vets try daily to overcome not just the physical toll of war, but the psychological ones as well. I think I would have given up, but he didn't. Far from "a personal pity party" he acknowledges the huge struggle and turmoil of his wounds, seen and unseen and gives inspiration that a person can overcome, can heal and can still contribute immensely to our great nation. Talking frankly about fear and PTSD is not seeking pity, its the courage to be public about issues that make most of us, those walking around on two legs and having never been shot at for example, uncomfortable.

I suspect Mr. Cleland's party affiliation has a great deal to do with any negative reviews. That's the most pathetic and hate-mongering pile of senseless stupidity I can imagine. It wasn't a democrat or republican that lost so much overseas, I think those useless labels go out the window the second real blood is left on foreign soil, American blood.

An American lost his legs and his esteem, not some liberal or some conservative, but a neighbor.

And if in the aftermath, Max has the guts to vote against putting other neighbors in harm's way for a suspect reason, god bless him. He speaks from experience, not sitting behind a desk in Washington, far removed from the daily horror of people trying to kill you.

Any vet should read it, whether you love Bush or hate him, whether you think Obama is a liberal dictator or a young visionary. Max is reminded every day that blind faith gets us killed.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heart of a Patriot, February 16, 2010

By 

Leeanna Chetsko (OH, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart of a Patriot: How I Found the Courage to Survive Vietnam, Walter Reed and Karl Rove (Hardcover)

Heart of a Patriot, by Max Cleland

While reading "Heart of A Patriot," I kept turning to discuss certain points with my father, as I was continually inspired and amazed by Max Cleland. In this book he briefly describes his childhood and coming of age during the Kennedy era, which inspired him to get into politics. He then delves into his time in Vietnam and the subsequent grenade explosion that took his legs and arm. He spares nothing in recounting his recovery, both physical and mental, and his sheer determination to walk again despite overwhelming odds was incredibly inspiring.

Cleland used politics as a way to find purpose in his life - he wanted to *do* something. And he definitely did something - Georgia state senator, Veterans Affairs Administrator, Secretary of the State of Georgia, U.S. Senator, 9/11 Commission, and Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission.

During the 2002 Senate race, Cleland lost his seat to a Republican, likely due in large part to a smear campaign that he felt "took away his service." His vote for the Iraq War authorization also caused him grief and doubt, and he discusses the thought process behind voting for the resolution in the book. I enjoyed some of the lighter information as well, such as the historical desks in the Senate offices.

Cleland is very clearly a Democrat, and his book tells it how *he* sees it - and I find nothing wrong with that. Even so, if you may have political views on the other side of the spectrum, don't let that stop you from reading this book. While much of it is political, much is also not, particularly Cleland's battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after the disastrous 2002 Senate race. Some people have said that he sounds like a crybaby, but nothing could be further from the truth; he suffered from extreme depression and anxiety, and fought like a man to overcome PSTD and live a normal life. Cleland's struggle is inspiring, and I think it's pretty cool that a normal guy was willing to talk about his struggles so openly, in the hopes that it would help someone else.

4/5.

18 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MORE THAN ANYONE EVER DREAMED, October 12, 2009

By 

David Hollar "Mr. NewHeart" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart of a Patriot: How I Found the Courage to Survive Vietnam, Walter Reed and Karl Rove (Hardcover)

I returned from Vietnam in August 1970 after serving as an infantry Lieutenant. I was a platoon leader with the First Infantry Division with our battalion headquarters located at Dau Tieng. Max Cleland and I share the experience of serving in Vietnam.

That is where our commonality stops since I escaped even being woulded. He is a patriot of patriots. Having endured the life-altering injuries which left him missing parts of himself, he has inspired many of us and others dealing with life's difficulties. He tells us all this in his new book, "Heart of a Patriot."

The injuries suffered in Vietnam were only the beginning of his trials. Walter Reed did not give him the best care. Mr. Cleland goes on to become more that anyone ever dreamed.

An then there is Karl Rove, a man with two arms and two legs, whose greatness and patiotism fail to measure up to that of Max Cleland.



Author of: Mr. NewHeart - Heart Attack to Transplant and Beyond