Courage: Portraits of Bravery in the Service of Great Causes [Paperback]

Gordon Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2009

In the tradition of John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning Profiles in Courage, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's fascinating collection of inspirational leaders is destined to become a staple of every politically conscious reader's library as his already-significant profile grows exponentially around the world.

The prime minister explores the lives of eight outstanding twentieth-century figures to uncover why some men and women make difficult decisions and do the right thing when easier and far less dangerous alternatives are open to them. Those profiled range from icons such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy to lesser-known figures such as Edith Cavell, who nursed the wounded of World War I in Belgium and helped Allied soldiers escape, and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who returned to Nazi Germany from New
York to lead the Christian opposition against Hitler's regime. Bringing his personal reflections to these intimate portraits, Brown illuminates a common thread of inspiring courage in every one of these eight heroes and, in doing so, introduces us to his own inspiring values.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British prime minister Brown profiles eight paragons in this warm, plainspoken volume of moral homiletics. Three of his subjects faced the 20th century's greatest test of courage, the Germans in the two world wars: Edith Cavell, an English nurse shot by the kaiser's troops for helping fugitive Allied soldiers escape occupied Belgium; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who was hanged after speaking out against Hitler; and Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from annihilation. Latter-day martyrs include Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and imprisoned Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. Rounding out the roster are Robert Kennedy, saluted in part for his early embrace of a New Laboresque Third Way politics, and Cicely Saunders, who fought a callous medical establishment to found the hospice movement. Brown touches on personal idiosyncrasies—Bonhoeffer's soul-searching, Wallenberg's bravado, Kennedy's rivalry with his older brothers—to illuminate his subjects' actions, but dwells on the blunt fact of their readiness to act on principle regardless of safety. There's not much deep psychological insight, but what makes Brown's accounts inspiring, and occasionally moving, is precisely that his heroes' actions speak for themselves. 8 pages of b&w photos. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Well-written and heartfelt ... Brown consistently demonstrates the lucid, unwavering, objective eye of a historian .... His portraits do not sanctify sociopolitical icons; instead they celebrate ordinary men and women called to extraordinary feats in the service of causes that stirred their passion." (Kirkus Reviews )

"Very moving and completely uncynical ... The purpose of this book is clear: to keep alive this concept of courage so that future generations will learn from the examples of others and be inspired by them." (The Guardian )

"[Brown's] approach is refreshing ... readable and intelligent." (The London Times )

"No British prime minister since Churchill has written anything quite as good, at least not while in active politics." (New York Review of Books )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Weinstein Books; 1 edition (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602860750
• ISBN-13: 978-1602860759
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,525,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courage: Inner Strength Rising Up To the Occasion, June 9, 2008

By 

Serge J. Van Steenkiste (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Courage: Portraits of Bravery in the Service of Great Causes (Hardcover)

U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown shares with his audience the life of eight men and women whose courage he deeply admires. These eight people are Edith Cavell, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Raoul Wallenberg, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Cicely Saunders, and Aung San Suu Kyi. The emphasis on courage as a selection criterion is built on Winston Churchill's observation that courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others (p. 124).

Cavell, Bonhoeffer, Wallenberg, King, Jr., Kennedy, Mandela, Saunders, and Suu Kyi are what Frank Farley calls "sustained altruists" who devote long periods, sometimes their entire lives, to principled causes (p. 240). The other two types of courageous people that Farley identifies are "career heroes," say, emergency workers, police, and military, and "situational heroes," who courageously rise to the occasion as it demands, say, the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 on 9/11. These three categories of courageous people are not mutually exclusive (pp. 239-40).

To his credit, Brown successfully shares his genuine admiration for these eight men and women with his readers. Brown points out that their courage exudes not only physical bravery, but also, and perhaps more importantly, strength of character and strength of beliefs (pp. 1, 35, 38, 64, 67, 72, 78, 85, 96, 106, 129, 139-40, 167, 210-11, 227). These eight men and women did not belong to a "predestined elite" that inevitably had to rise to greatness (pp. 8, 37, 66-70, 80, 92, 118, 123, 152, 183, 241-42, 244). Like the readers of "Courage," they had choices and options throughout their lives. These eight men and women chose action over inaction (pp. 11, 27, 41, 49, 59-61, 70, 92, 106, 126, 152, 186-89, 210).

Cavell, Bonhoeffer, Wallenberg, King, Jr., Kennedy, Mandela, Saunders, and Suu Kyi succeeded in leveraging their strong beliefs and willpower to keep their fears out of the way of their principled causes (pp. 17-18, 23, 32, 44, 53, 83-84, 95, 98, 125, 155, 173, 176, 227, 241, 244). Social disapproval, physical pain, and danger, including the risk of death, ultimately were no match for their personal belief and moral purpose (pp. 20, 28, 36, 40, 47, 55, 66, 79, 137, 155, 161-62, 169-71, 196, 214, 219-25, 228, 236). Like a lighthouse, these eight men and women were driven to bring light where darkness was ruling; this in the name of higher ideals (pp. 1, 34-35, 63, 76, 88, 97, 112-13, 122, 137, 157-58, 189-90, 205, 211, 230, 243).

Although Brown celebrates the courage of these eight men and women he admires, he rightly does not downplay the courage of anonymous people who make a difference in their respective societies. Courage is not a luxury, but a must in the struggle against prejudice, racism, violence, discrimination, and injustice, and in the creation of a good society (p. 242).

To summarize, Brown invites his audience to better know eight courageous men and women who chose to act when others stood by, and made sacrifices that made our world a better place to live in.

As a side note, any proceeds of "Courage" go to a charity whose goal is to support research into the causes and consequences of prematurity (pp. xiv, 244-45).