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Heart of a Soldier Paperback – June 2, 2003

by James B. Stewart (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 294 ratings
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From Pulitzer Prize winner James B. Stewart comes the extraordinary story of American hero Rick Rescorla, Morgan Stanley security director and a veteran of Vietnam and the British colonial wars in Rhodesia, who lost his life on September 11.

When Rick Rescorla got home from Vietnam, he tried to put combat and death behind him, but he never could entirely. From the day he joined the British Army to fight a colonial war in Rhodesia, where he met American Special Forces’ officer Dan Hill who would become his best friend, to the day he fell in love with Susan, everything in his remarkable life was preparing him for an act of generosity that would transcend all that went before.

Heart of a Soldier is a story of bravery under fire, of loyalty to one’s comrades, of the miracle of finding happiness late in life. Everything about Rick’s life came together on September 11. In charge of security for Morgan Stanley, he successfully got all its 2,700 men and women out of the south tower of the World Trade Center. Then, thinking perhaps of soldiers he’d held as they died, as well as the woman he loved, he went back one last time to search for stragglers.

Heart of a Soldier is a story that inspires, offers hope, and helps heal even the deepest wounds.
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  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    June 2, 2003
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0743244591
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0743244596
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Heart of a Soldier peels back many layers of human phenomena we struggle to understand: the qualities of leadership, the depths of loyalty, the dilemmas of love. -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The best nonfiction book of 2002. -- Time

Engaging and illuminating. -- Jonathan Yardley ― The Washington Post Book World

Humming with tension, foreign adventure, and the clash of arms, Heart of a Soldier has all the ingredients of an Indiana Jones movie. -- The Baltimore Sun

About the Author

James B. Stewart is a columnist at The New York Times and the author of numerous books including the blockbuster Den of Thieves, Blood Sport, DisneyWar, and his most recent New York Times bestseller, Unscripted. He won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the stock market crash and insider trading. He is a regular contributor to SmartMoney and The New Yorker. He is a professor of business journalism at Columbia University and lives in New York.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Revised ed. edition (June 2, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0743244591
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0743244596
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 294 ratings

About the author

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James B. Stewart

James B. Stewart

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James B. Stewart is the author of Heart of a Soldier, the bestselling Blind Eye and Blood Sport, and the blockbuster Den of Thieves. A former Page-One editor at The Wall Street Journal, Stewart won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for his reporting on the stock market crash and insider trading. He is a regular contributor to SmartMoney and The New Yorker. He lives in New York.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
294 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the story compelling and readable. They describe the book as an important tribute to a hero and consider it one of the best Vietnam books they have read. Readers praise the writing quality as well-done and concise. They find the story touching and heartfelt, depicting the true friendship and love between the two subjects. The book serves as a fine memorial to a man of courage, honor, and duty.

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Select to learn more
Story qualityReadabilityHero storyWriting qualityHeartfeltnessFriendshipMemory value
41 customers mention "Story quality"38 positive3 negative

Customers find the story engaging and well-told. They describe it as more than a collection of war stories. The author does a fantastic job describing Rick Rescorla's life and experiences. The tragedy is elevated to a heroic yet poignant level, with an interesting section about 9/11.

"Very well done story of an amazing soldier. Great read, excellent details and insight in Rick's mindset" Read more

"...34;Heart of a Soldier" is an extremely well written account of Rick's life, and not just the "good" or the "exciting" parts...." Read more

"...the military section but prior to the 9/11 event, there is an interesting section where Hill and Rescorla struggle with their identity as veterans..." Read more

"...in Hayle, UK, to his noble end in the World Trade Center, is fascinating, particularly against the backdrop of his close friendship with Dan Hill..." Read more

33 customers mention "Readability"33 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find the story engaging and admirable. The book is described as a must-read for anyone who appreciates the life of a warrior and hero. Readers praise the author's skillful storytelling, describing both the exciting and emotional moments. Overall, it's considered a fine tribute to the hero and better than Hollywood movies.

"Very well done story of an amazing soldier. Great read, excellent details and insight in Rick's mindset" Read more

"...The opera ignores that fact. Stewart's book is well done. Many of its insights into the two Soldiers' Hearts remain implicit...." Read more

"This story started off very slowly. It is about the friendship and love of two men for each other...." Read more

"...that this man has done so much with his life and there is this wonderful book to tell you all about him...." Read more

23 customers mention "Hero story"23 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's true story about a real hero. They find it an interesting perspective on a great American hero. The book is well-written in terms of character development and storytelling.

"Very well done story of an amazing soldier. Great read, excellent details and insight in Rick's mindset" Read more

"...Bravery is one thing, it is standing up to fear, controlling it, and doing what needs to be done in spite of that fear...." Read more

"...In Rescorla's case, he wasn't even an American. They are both exceptional heroes and reading of their battles is very inspiring...." Read more

"...goes deep into the world of military life, friendship and true honor of a complex man." Read more

22 customers mention "Writing quality"16 positive6 negative

Customers praise the book's writing quality. They find it well-written, readable, and concise. The story is described as a riveting war story that covers a great deal of time and territory. Readers appreciate the respectful way the hero's deeds are remembered.

"...This is an OK read. Obviously, the last part of the book was most important and readable...." Read more

"...This book is the perfect combination of a brilliant subject and superior writing and reporting...." Read more

"This biography is well written and goes deep into the world of military life, friendship and true honor of a complex man." Read more

"...man lay down his life for his friends"; and (3) the book really seemed kind of poorly written...." Read more

10 customers mention "Heartfeltness"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book touching and heartfelt. They describe it as a profoundly heroic yet poignantly human story. Readers find the battles of the subjects inspiring and the intimacy of the storytelling great. The book is described as the perfect combination of brilliant subject matter and superior writing and reporting, covering both exciting and mundane aspects of the lives of two heroes.

"Very well done story of an amazing soldier. Great read, excellent details and insight in Rick's mindset" Read more

"...What to my surprise, the book is subtler and deeper in its depiction of the Hearts of the its two subjects, Rescorla and Hill, than the opera...." Read more

"...They are both exceptional heroes and reading of their battles is very inspiring...." Read more

"...This book is the perfect combination of a brilliant subject and superior writing and reporting...." Read more

4 customers mention "Friendship"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the friendship and love between the two men. They find it inspiring, with a true hero and his best friend.

"...It is about the friendship and love of two men for each other. Not romantic love, but a love that caused a friendship to last for a lifetime...." Read more

"...is well written and goes deep into the world of military life, friendship and true honor of a complex man." Read more

"...This is the story of a man of courage, honor, and duty, his best friend, and the love of his life. Who could ask for more?..." Read more

"An awesome story, better than anything coming out of hollywood. A true friendship and true love and a true hero. Inspiring." Read more

4 customers mention "Memory value"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's memory value. They say it's a fine tribute and memorializes the man of courage, honor, and duty.

"I am profoundly thankful for this book because it memorializes and, in so far as possible, explains Rick Rescorla -- Colonel Rescorla, Managing..." Read more

"...A fine tribute on all accounts...." Read more

"...This is the story of a man of courage, honor, and duty, his best friend, and the love of his life. Who could ask for more?..." Read more

"...Unforgettable and told respectfully. His deeds will be remembered. Never to be forgotten" Read more

Heart of a Soldier
5 out of 5 stars
Heart of a Soldier
This book is what our current life is really about in the Post 911 era. We visit two soldiers who live life together in Africa and then in Vietnam. It (at the end of the book) debunks our police frame work and the cover-ups of the Bush and Clinton Administrations. These two soldiers warn us of the impending Air Strikes against the Twin Towers years in advance. There can be no second guessing the correct warning they gave the NYPD,The FBI, and others. This book should be made into a film. Give this book a buy and pass it around to all you know and care for. And yes I was there on top of the towers in 1989 and felt the tremor of impending doom awaiting us in the future. Every American should be proud of these soldiers and applaud them.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • D. S. Johnson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Very well done story of an amazing soldier. Great read, excellent details and insight in Rick's mindset
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  • BradGunnerSGT
    5.0 out of 5 stars Makes me proud to call this man a brother
    Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    (Sorry if this review is too long, and sorry if the first part is about me and not the book. I put it in here to help give some context as to why this book affected me so intensely.)

    I joined the Army at 29 years old in April of 2001 and spent the summer of 2001 at Infantry basic training. My report date to Fort Hood was September 12, 2001. I awoke the morning of September 11 to the news reports of the attack on the WTC and had turned the TV on just minutes before the second plane hit. When I reported to Fort Hood the next day, the base was on lockdown. Cars had to be searched and my first night at the Replacement Depot I was assigned guard duty on the barracks that we stayed in.

    A week later, I was assigned to D Company, Second Battalion of the Seventh Cavalry Regiment. I learned about the battalion's history starting as B Troop 7th Cav under Custer, and about the Regiment's storied history in the Pacific in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. I read "We Were Soldiers" and watched the movie, and I felt a kinship with my fellow GarryOwen troopers. D Company was folded into C Company a couple of years later, and the "Comanches" of C 2/7 deployed to Iraq in 2004. We fought in Baghad and Fallujah.

    Even though he was in "We Were Soldiers", I didn't really learn about Rick Rescorla until much later. Sometime in 2011 or 2012, I read an article about him and was surprised to learn that he was integral in saving the lives of so many on 9/11, and that he had been in 2/7 in Vietnam. I re-read "We Were Soldiers" and at the time, "Heart of a Soldier" was out of print and not available as an ebook. It finally came out as ebook and I must say that this is one of the most moving biographies that I have read.

    "Heart of a Soldier" is an extremely well written account of Rick's life, and not just the "good" or the "exciting" parts. I feel that the author took the time to get to know Rick through all of his interview subjects and that shows through in the prose. I couldn't put the book down and I read it over the course of a few days in whatever spare time I could, but when I got to the chapter on 9/11 I just couldn't get through it. I ended up in the bathroom at work crying my eyes out during lunchtime. I couldn't help thinking about the extraordinary heroism that this man had. It also stirred up feelings of pride to have been a fellow 2/7 trooper and sadness thinking about the soldiers that C Company lost in Iraq.

    Bravery is one thing, it is standing up to fear, controlling it, and doing what needs to be done in spite of that fear. Heroism is another thing completely. Heroism to me means bravery on behalf of others, and Rick Rescorla is, in my opinion, one of the most heroic people that I have heard of.
    12 people found this helpful
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  • Gio
    5.0 out of 5 stars Two Hearts, Two Minds
    Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    I only heard of this 'bestseller' after it had been made into an opera. That's right, you read correctly! There's a brand new opera, based on the life story of Rick Rescorla, one of the two hearty soldiers in the book, and I attended the world premiere of it In San Francisco a week ago. There isn't much point in reviewing the opera per se here; it was a stunning success as a theatrical event but the music left little impression on me -- too episodic, too subordinate to the dramaturgy and stage business. The composer, Christopher Theofanidis, was not much in charge. He was commissioned after the fact, after impresario David Gockley and conductor Patrick Summers had concocted the project while they were both at the Houston Opera. The initial idea may even have come to them from stage director Francesca Zambello and/or librettist Donna di Novelli. To my mind, this was opera made backwards, starting with a theatrical vision and hiring music to support it. A Hollywood process, "producer-made" opera.

    But I was of two minds about the libretto and the concept of heroism that it presented. Rick Rescorla and Daniel j. Hill, the two soldiers of the book and the opera, both fought fiercely in Vietnam, the war that I myself protested, resisted, and fled. Rescorla went on to the the chief security officer of Morgan Stanley, the largest tenant of the World Trade Centers, and Rescorla's intrepid actions on Sept. 11, 2001, are credited with saving a multitude of lives. Rescorla himself died in the collapse of the second Tower. The opera went a little too far in the direction of mythologizing, wrapping itself complacently in the flag of patriotism, simplifying the moral and psychological issues of war and warriors, to satisfy me. So I decided to read the book ...

    ... and honestly I didn't expect to like it. What to my surprise, the book is subtler and deeper in its depiction of the Hearts of the its two subjects, Rescorla and Hill, than the opera. The two are pretty obviously sublimated 'lovers' -- Achilles and Patrocles, Castor and Pollux -- two testosterone-maddened guys who feel themselves alive only in situations of mayhem. In a Norse saga, they'd be berserkers. In a foxhole or in any catastrophe, they'd be the guys you'd want next to you. But are they heroes or psychos? Are they people with a necessary role in society or are they in truth the prototypes of all terrorists and fanatics, DNA throwbacks to the mentality of the Stone Age? Any epic depiction between Homer and Verdi's military operas would have unquestioningly celebrate their courage. Most of the positive reviews of the book here on amazon interpret author James Stewart's text as a celebration of individual heroism.

    But it's not so simple. Stewart's portrayal of the two men is intelligently ambivalent. Both men are revealed to be troubled underachieving misfits in modern society. Neither is satisfied with his own life or easy with his conscience. Hill diverts his self-unease into religion; he becomes a Muslim. Rescorla represses his self-distaste by suppressing his memories, discounting his own 'heroic' deeds, and flinging his passion into a late-blooming love for a woman, Susan. He is plainly shamed and horrified by the realization that the war in Vietnam was both unjust and futile, a slaughter of humanity for mere politics and ideology. He is dying of prostate cancer, by the way, at the time of his late romance and his self-sacrifice on 9/11. The opera ignores that fact.

    Stewart's book is well done. Many of its insights into the two Soldiers' Hearts remain implicit. That's probably the only way the book could avoid being preachy or polemical. The portrayal is as thoughtful as the reader chooses to be thoughtful about it.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Kevin M Quigg
    4.0 out of 5 stars Two soldiers and a story of 9/11.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    This story started off very slowly. It is about the friendship and love of two men for each other. Not romantic love, but a love that caused a friendship to last for a lifetime. The story goes from Chicago, Cornwall, Northern Rhodesia, Vietnam back to the United States. Rick the Cornwall man eventually marries and settles in New York where he eventually ends up working in the World Trade Center. Bill eventually settles in Florida and converts to Islam.

    Even though the story goes around like a Tolstoy novel, one eventually figures out what will happen. Obviously both men were brave in how they faced their personal crises. Both were accomplished men. Toward the end, the sorrow of the story can be felt. Rick died the death he wanted to even though it left his wife heart broken.

    This is an OK read. Obviously, the last part of the book was most important and readable. However, you need to plunge through the first part of the book in order to understand the last.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • kevin smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent book detailing the life of a very interesting and courageous man. A fitting tribute to someone who should be remembered for his actions
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  • Paul Snape
    5.0 out of 5 stars Superb read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I knew the story of Rick Rescorla fairly well, but the book gave me so much more detail and insight. It left me in tears, a fantastic read. He was truly a remarkable man, and you won't regret purchasing it!
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  • Penni J
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 18, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    SO VERY MOVING. WHAT A MAN!
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  • thomas22
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyed.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Thoroughly enjoyed.
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  • Bf Wilton
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    one hell of a (true) story.fascinating read.real hero.
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