Heart of a Soldier By James B. Stewart



Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Stewart (Den of Thieves) aims to capture the enormity of the World Trade Center attack by retracing one of the lives lost in the disaster: that of Rick Rescorla, head of security for Morgan Stanley. From the late 1980s on, Rescorla tried to warn Port Authority officials that the World Trade Center was an easy target for terrorists. On September 11, after safely evacuating the Morgan Stanley offices in the south tower (he kept people calm by singing into his megaphone), Rescorla went back into the building minutes before it collapsed to search for stragglers. This wasn't his first selfless act of bravery: a Vietnam veteran, Rescorla won a Silver Star and other medals for his role in the Ia Drang valley an important American victory, but one whose devastating losses turned Rescorla against the war. Piecing together the recollections of, among others, Rescorla's widow, Susan, his best friend and fellow soldier, Daniel Hill, to narrate Rescorla's life story, Stewart also weaves in Susan's, and describes the Rescorlas' blissful mid-life relationship, a second marriage for both. Stewart's narrative is fast-paced, fluid and impressively detailed, though not without cliches. It's an absorbing and at times inspiring profile in courage, yet the book has the feel of an extended magazine piece.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From AudioFile
Stewart tells the extraordinary story of Rick Rescorla, chief of security for Morgan Stanley, who personally got 2,700 of the company's employees out of the South Tower on September 11. A decorated soldier, he believed that Osama bin Laden would attack the World Trade Center a second time. Although he did not survive that attack, he is an inspiration for many. George DiCenzo's reading is flawless, capturing Rescorla's passion with a spirit that does justice to Stewart's literary magic. He superbly conveys Rescorla's zeal to protect his employ-ees. DiCenzo particularly excels during passages that focus on Rescorla's love for his wife, Susan. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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.


Time

The best nonfiction book of 2002.


Jonathan Yardley

The Washington Post Book World

Engaging and illuminating.


The Baltimore Sun

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



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

Book Description

Heart of a Soldier is the extraordinary story of war, love and comradeship, danger and heroism, told by a Pulitzer Prize winner who is one of our finest writers.

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.



About the Author
James B. Stewart is the author of the bestselling Blind Eye, Blood Sport, and the blockbuster Den of Thieves. Former Page One editor of 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 The New Yorker and SmartMoney. He lives in New York.