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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
ENTERTAINING, ENLIGHTENING - ENJOYABLE!, January 13, 2008
We all love heroes, brave ones, achievers we can admire, try to emulate, and set forth as examples. To a greater or lesser degree, the lives of many of these men and women are known to us yet there is always something to learn as we revisit their accomplishments and the challenges they faced.
Noted British historian Paul M. Johnson is a prolific author having written some 40 books ranging from Modern Times to The Quest for God. He has lectured throughout the world and often contributes to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal among numerous other magazines and periodicals. His choice of subjects for Heroes is eclectic and, to some, may be surprising. Lord Nelson is almost to be expected but Marilyn Monroe? She is noted along with another blonde bombshell in Chapter 12, Heroes Behind the Greasepaint.
You see, Johnson's heroes, whether they be Samson, Caesar or Margaret Thatcher, are very human thus flawed. They are not presented to us on pedestals, not as stone figures but as flesh and blood beings, subject to all the temptations and constraints that mortality entails.
The author begins his stories of heroes with God's Heroes - Deborah, Judith, Samson, and David, noting that "No people were more in need of heroes than the Hebrews." Next we meet The Earthshakers - Alexander the Great and Caesar, and from there his subjects are presented in chronological order, closing with the present day. Thus, we are privy not only to entertaining and enlightening visits with those who made a difference but to mini history lessons as well.
Radio host, author, and managing editor of London's Sunday Times, James Adams, has narrated a number of books for Blackstone Audio. He's the perfect voice for the work of British historian Johnson as the slightest bit of a British accent can be detected in Adams's clear, crisp diction. Enjoyable listening!
- Gail Cooke
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31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not close to his best, December 30, 2007
I have worshipped at the shrine of Paul Johnson for 20 years, ever since "Modern Times", his revisionist history of the twentieth century. His histories of the American people, Judaism and Christianity have been readable and provocative. His masterpiece "Intellectuals" was a devastating attack on progressive thinkers whose effect on the world has been as nasty as their sordid personal lives. I wish, therefore, that I could say something positive about this effort. Alas, it is poorly-conceived and put together with very little effort. The moral sense which is usually at the heart of Johnson's work is missing here -- there is no clear notion of what a hero might be and, as a result, this book is less about heroes than it is a collection of anecdotes about historical celebrities. It is amusing in spots -- when Charles de Gaulle glares at Johnson for daring to ask a cheeky question, when we learn that Adolf Hitler was an accomplished whistler or when it is revealed that Nancy Mitford once told him that she could never successfully masturbate unless she was thinking about Lady Jane Grey. We must hope that Paul Johnson has more and better books left to write.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A public intellectual meanders through heroes and heroism, February 7, 2008
There is no doubt that Paul Johnson is one of the great historians of our time and one of our leading public intellectuals.
In this volume, Johnson attempts to explain heroes and heroism within the context of historical setting. The effort is a mixed success. Consider, for example, his use of Mae West and Marilyn Monroe as examplars of female heroism in the 20th Century.
Both portraits make their point and make it well. Both West and Monroe were more accomplished than most might give them credit for. West was a dynamic self-promoter for all of her life and an accomplished writer, actress, comedian and business person. But Monroe was a different story. She never fully actualized the person she wanted to become, though Johnson leaves no doubt that she did want to be viewed as a different kind of person. Does Monroe's failed effort make her a hero? Not to me, though Johnson draws a sympathetic portrait.
Overall, Johnson's portraits do indeed make the case that heroism comes in many guises and that men and women can be heroes. As well, the qualities of heroism remain constant, a steady moral compass regardless of what the crowds are doing.
While interesting, though, "Heroes" is never totally engaging. It is a pleasant and informative read, but not a particularly challenging one. Johnson is telling us his views here set in historical context.
Jerry
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