Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life
by John McCain, Marshall Salter
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Book Summary Information
Author: John McCain, Marshall SalterEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-15
ISBN: 0345513347
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780345513342
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life
Book Review: Stories of, and a true definition of the first virtue- Courage
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is surprising in at least two ways. I thought a book by war- hero on Courage John McCain would focus on his own story, his own trial in courage. I also thought it would focus on military heroes. It has it share of these and in fact opens with the story of Vietnam War Medal of honor Winner Roy Benavidez whose courage in rescuing wounded comrades surrounded by Vietcong involved an incredible determination and persistence. It is notable by the way that in choosing the military heroes McCain does not focus on a Sergeant York - like hero remarkable for how many of the enemy he wiped out, but on someone engaged in an act of rescue of his fellow soldiers.
And in fact the theme of willingness to sacrifice for others, to risk oneself to save or help others is at the heart of McCain's conception in this work. The heroes he selects the explorer John Wesley Powell, the Civil Rights leader John Lewis, Eleanor Roosevelt, the Hungarian born Israeli parachutist behind the Nazi lines who refused to give the enemy critical information despite the severest torture, Hannah Szenes, the Nobel Prize Winning Burmese civil rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi, McCain's fellow prisoners, including his cell mate Bud Day, two soldiers of the Korean War Pete Salter ( Father of McCain's co- author)and the native American Red Cloud- all these in acts of courage forget their own personal safety and risk themselves for others.
McCain and Salter in this book make a real effort to provide a correct definition of Courage, and to underline its place among the first of virtues. They lament the 'defining down' of the concept in American life today in which it can be considered courageous to do things like going to a new hairstylist or talking back to one's therapist.
They go back to the core concept of courage as involving a real placing of oneself ,physically or morally on the line.
This book is winning in another way. McCain's modesty, recognition of his own failings and limitiations, awareness that there were others who were more courageous than himself- provide a sense of a person of broad understanding and appreciation of others.
The feeling I had when reading this book is that McCain is a person of true and strong character, with the right values , the values and moral vision America needs.
I write this at a moment when the economic crisis is great and growing in America, and when Barack Obama has opened a considerable perhaps unsurmountable lead on John McCain.
So it appears as it is now that John McCain will not be President.
However my strong impression in reading this book is : Here is a person truly qualified by experience, by values, by character to be the President of the United States- and to truly do the best for it whatever the cost to himself.
Summary of Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life
?Courage,? Winston Churchill explained, is ?the ?rst of human qualities . . . because it guarantees all the others.? As a naval officer, P.O.W., and one of America?s most admired political leaders, John McCain has seen countless acts of bravery and self-sacrifice. Now, in this inspiring meditation on courage, he shares his most cherished stories of ordinary individuals who have risked everything to defend the people and principles they hold most dear.?We are taught to understand, correctly, that courage is not the absence of fear but the capacity for action despite our fears,? McCain reminds us, as a way of introducing the stories of ?gures both famous and obscure that he ?nds most compelling?from the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to Sgt. Roy Benavidez, who ignored his own well-being to rescue eight of his men from an ambush in the Vietnam jungle; from 1960s civil rights leader John Lewis, who wrote, ?When I care about something, I?m prepared to take the long, hard road,? to Hannah Senesh, who, in protecting her comrades in the Hungarian resistance against Hitler?s SS, chose a martyr?s death over a despot?s mercy.
These are some of the examples McCain turns to for inspiration and offers to others to help them summon the resolve to be both good and great. He explains the value of courage in both everyday actions and extraordinary feats. We learn why moral principles and physical courage are often not distinct quantities but two sides of the same coin. Most of all, readers discover how sometimes simply setting the right example can be the ultimate act of courage.
Written by one of our most respected public ?gures, Why Courage Matters is that rare book with a message both timely and timeless. This is a work for anyone seeking to understand how the mystery and gift of courage can empower us and change our lives.
From the Hardcover edition.
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