Courage: Portraits of Bravery in the Service of Great Causes - Softcover

Brown, Gordon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1602860750 ISBN 13: 9781602860759

Publisher: Hachette Books, 2009

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

GORDON BROWN became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on June 27, 2007. Previously, he was the longest serving Chancellor of the Exchequer in 200 years. He is the author of several books, including Maxton, Where There Is Greed, and The Politics of Nationalism and Devolution. He is married to Sarah Macaulay and they have two sons.

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.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1602860750
• ISBN 13: 9781602860759
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304