Local Heroes

Bill Berkowitz, a Community Psychologist, interviews twenty-two men and women from all over America, men and women who have proven themselves heroes all they've come in contact with. From a Los Angeles bus driver who sings to his passengers to Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, these collected vignettes showcase the stories of individuals who endeavor to improve the lives of others and have dedicated their lives to this task.

This collection of interviews with "ordinary people of extraordinary accomplishment in their communities" establishes a "new heroic model for our time." Twenty interviews allow a variety of community builders to tell their stories. We hear from Curtis Silwa of the Guardian Angels in Brooklyn; Bill and Helene Sample, whose Philadelphia Sunshine Foundation strives to fulfill the wishes of terminally ill children; Texan Candy Lightner of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving); Ellen Cassedy of 9-to-5 in Cleveland; Phyllis and David York, founders of the Pennsylvania-based Tough Love, and other individuals whose community service meets a perceived need and provides social support in a non-institutional format. Berkowitz, a psychologist at the University of Lowell, Mass., describes these people as heroes of a new sort, heroes because they make a difference in their home environments and inspire others to join in enterprises that bring about betterment, physical and emotional, for many.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Berkowitz has collected 20 first-person accounts of the extraordinary contributions of ordinary persons to their local communities. In some instances, these men and women have become national figures (Candy Lightner of MADD, Curtis Sliwa of the Guardian Angels, Ellen Cassedy of 9-to-5), while others have continued at the local level. Berkowitz sees in all of them a new heroic archetype that identifies a community need and then mobilizes resources to meet that need. In analyzing the attributes of heroism in local community work, as distinguished from single, discrete acts of bravery, Berkowitz promotes a model of heroism as credible as it is persuasive. Enthusiastically recommended for public libraries. Cynthia Widmer, Williamstown, Mass.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.