Customer Reviews

Lionheart: A Journey of the Human Spirit

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a fabulous book and I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I highly recommend it to anyone but especially to any young people as it shows just where enthusiasm, optimism and determination can get you and that you dont have to (shouldn't) follow the crowd to succeed in life. He is a wonderful storyteller and very modest about his achievement. Everyone I know who has read it has found it unputdownable.

I just finished reading Lionheart a book that has reminded me that dreams can come true. As a sailor, I dream about taking my boat to distant places but can't find the courage to do it, I think Jesse has opened a new window for me. This book is much more than a sailing story is about fullfilling your dreams.

Jesse's account of sailing solo around the world is an outstanding resource for teachers.

Jesse's journey is inspiring to young people and a very easy read. Students between 13 and 20 love it but the book is also outstanding reading for anyone with a sense of adventure.

An outstanding read.

I read Lionheart around 3-4 years ago and it instantly reminded me of all the years I went sailing with my family when I was a small girl. It made me appreciate the art of sailing to the fullest. Jesse is an inspiration to everyone that reads his adventures and he gives a great motivation to follow your dreams until they become true!

Jesse's honest account of his experiences and his comments on success make this book well worth the read.

I loved this book,and fell in love with sailing all over again. I've been sailing since I was a little girl, yet his out look on sailing affected mine all over again.
This book quickly became my favorite, replacing my old favorite books. I keep it by my bed and for inspiration I only have to open it up.

At first I imagined 'Lionheart' to be a day to day account of Jesse's sailing experience around the world and not the wonderfully inspirational and encouraging read that it is. Jesse's adventures and pure spirit will remind you of those dreams you had as a little kid that you were sure to do when you 'grew up'. Sailing is of course an element within the book, but certainly not the core. You will enjoy this book if you delight in seeing people acheive their goals whilst inadvertently inspiring others to do the same.

It is verry cool to sail and he did it all.

I should preface this review by saying I read this book through the eyes of an adult. I guess I expected to be reading a story similar to that of Robin Lee Graham's. That was an adventure. I read that as a boy of 15 back in the '70s. Jesse's was just a sailboat trip he took during which he was incredibly fortunate. He thinks he rose to the challenge. That's crap! Jesse Martin was a foolish child with no adults to guide him. His parents, while fully grown, were not adults. Neither of them wanted to be "the bad guys". Jesse thinks he has dealt with the loneliness of a solo sea voyage, yet he was in touch with his friends and his mommy by radio, email, and satellite phone on a regular basis. He was personally ill prepared for his trip and he barely knew how to sail. Had he been an accomplished sailor, I might feel differently. He wasn't. He was lucky, nothing more. I can't stress that enough. He had/has no skill. He doesn't have the soul of an adventurer. He has a boy's soul. He had the same longing all teenage boys have. Sadly, most of us lose that as they mature. Given similar circumstances, I like to believe I would've jumped at the opportunities he was given and done the same thing. The problem was that I had parents who cared whether I lived or died and accepted the responsibility that I might resent them for it.

I'm the kind of person who keeps books forever. Unfortunately, I purchased Jesse's follow-up book at the same time I purchased Lionheart. I was so disappointed and disgusted by Lionheart that I've thrown both books away. I won't subject anyone else to them by giving them away. He has somehow managed to take the fantasy of sailing around the world and flush it down the head.

I would urge anyone thinking of purchasing any of his books to think twice. He is not an adventurer. He's not a man to emulate and he's not a particularly interesting writer either. He's just a boy with luck. I hope he learns from it before it kills anyone.