Customer Reviews

Profiles in Courage

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This is the very same edition I bought and read in the early 1960's (while JFK was still alive). Note the 50 cent price, yes, youngsters books were that low priced in those days. I enjoyed it then and enjoy it now when I dig it out of my library to reread. Stories of great Americans who had the moral courage to stand up for their convictions. Should be an inspiration to us all. There had been a television series based on the stories in the book. I wish they would bring that back and update it with new stories. I am sure there have been a lot of courageous Americans since then.

great read, integrity taught in youth, is a great asset, read this book, love, peace, and nurse,

This memorable book by then-U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy examines seven Senators from U.S. history who risked their popularity with courageous but unpopular stands of principal. In each case the Senators faced bitter criticism from their constiuents, the press in their home states, even their friends and colleagues. The seven Senators were John Quincy Adams (opposing a trade embargo in 1807), Daniel Webster (supporting the Compromise of 1850) Thomas Hart Benton (opposing slavery expansion), Sam Houston (opposing Texas Secession in 1861), Edward Ross (refusing to convict President Andrew Johnson in 1868), plus Lucius Lamar, George Norris, and Robert Taft. Readers learn about the pressure and challenges Senators face for voting contrary to the wishes of many of their constituents. The author doesn't necessarily claim that each of those lonely stands was the correct one; merely that they were stands taken by brave men of conscience for reasons they beleived in. Readers can make up their own minds as to the correctness of those stands. We might also add that in several (but not all) cases many bitter opponents came to admire and even agree with the unpopular stands the Senators took.

Senator John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) penned these pages in the mid-1950's while recovering from surgery. The book won the 1957 Pulitizer Prize, and aided Kennedy's successful run for the Presidency in 1960. In later years some claimed that the real author of this memorable book wasn't John F. Kennedy but his wife, his secretary, or his speech writer Ted Sorenson. While we may never know for certain, this inspiring and readable book about political controversy in a democratic nation is well worth your time.

I needed this for my class, and I recieved it quickly and in great condition.