Why Courage Matters : The Way to a Braver Life

Rating:
Summary: Pleasant book, rambles a bit
Review: The title of the book is "Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life." The title promises lessons or explanations about why courage is important, and how we can develop courage; however, Senator John McCain just rambles around. He talks about people who did brave deeds. Many of the events are in wars. Some of his comments about these events are confusing. It isn't really clear just what he is trying to teach us. He talks about how it is important to be brave, but then sometimes he bewails the costs of being brave.

For example he talks about is a mother in East Baltimore, a rough neighborhood. She works to keep the drug dealers out of her front yard. They don?t like this. Finally one of her neighbors lights her house on fire, and she and her family are burned to death. Senator McCain says maybe she was too brave. What does this mean? Does he want us to be brave, but only in certain situations? He just comments that it is sad, but doesn't really explain what lessons he wants us to learn. In a similar vein he talks about the battles in the island of Pelelu during the end of World War II. Men on both sides were brave, but Senator McCain dwells on the waste, so it wasn't clear what the point was.

At a number of places in the book he briefly mentions some of his experience being a prisoner of war, but there are very few details. It would have been nice to have more insight into his life through this time.

The stories of courage he tells come from around the world. The stories are well told, and for the most part do show how men and women with courage made a difference. Aung San Suu Kyi standing up to the Burma (Myanmar) generals reminded me of the lone man stopping the tanks at Tiananmen Square. This one woman has shaken the military dictators who run Burma.

At the end of the book he does talk very briefly about how we can develop courage by doing the things we fear. This is more of an afterthought, than a point to which he has been building.

There are many good thoughts. The book is a quick read, and some of the stories were very interesting. A better title would have been "Thoughts and stories about Courage." It is worth reading.



Rating:
Summary: Inspiration from a master of courage
Review: "Why Courage Matters" is Senator John McCain's attempt to quantify courage, and to help readers get more of it. Strangely enough, the book does not achieves its first goal, and leaves the second for the reader to pursue. Yet, it is quite worthwhile reading. I listened to the abridged audio version of the book, and was honored to hear John McCain reading from his own writing. Here is a man who has demonstrated enormous courage and resilience, yet whose voice expresses great humility, and the sure knowledge that even greater exemplars of heroism exist. McCain is a person who has experienced the limits of his own courage, and the lack of bravado in his voice is awe-inspiring.

McCain admits that defining courage is easy enough -- taking action that is dangerous or worthy without regard to one's personal safety or reputation. But prior to our need for courage, who can tell which of us will rise up to challenges, and which of us will run? McCain has seen enough of life's challenges, including five years in a North Vietnamese prison, to know that it's not always the physically strong who have the greatest reserves of courage. And he frankly seems at a loss for giving his readers a program for increasing their own personal courage. The best he can do, he admits, is to let them hear stories of others' courage, hoping some of it will stick at the moment of crisis.

McCain's stories of heroism are the core and glory of "Why Courage Matters." He picks stories from wartime and from political struggles. He chronicles the March on Selma through the eyes of civil rights leader Carl Lewis. He tells the story of Aung San Suu Kyi, who for decades has risked arrest and death to stand up to the thugs who rule Burma. He tells of unsung soldier heroes of Vietnam and Korea, who disregarded their own safety in almost comic-book-style martial performances that allowed their buddies to survive. These stories are riveting, and they show the degree to which some human beings are able to overcome fear and intimidation in the pursuit of right.

McCain is correct. His stories *are* an inspiration to courage. They help us learn to face our fears of losing life, comfort, wealth or reputation -- and to overcome those fears in the pursuit of worthy goals that are larger than any of us.

Rating:
Summary: Sen. McCain is arguably the most popular politician in...
Review: ...modern day America. He is one of the few remaining political leaders that is able to captivate citizens regardless of party affiliation. This relatively short book is just another example as to why he holds such universal appeal. The book itself is simply a collection of stories about folks who McCain thinks has demonstrated some form of courage. They range anywhere from physical acts of courage on the battlefield to the moral courage to stand up for what is right. He scatters throughout the book his personal thoughts on fear and courage, morality and virtue, and asks some open-ended questions which are not easy to answer. Despite the fact that he doesn't spend too much time discussing his experience as a POW, his thoughts and the stories he's chosen to share are just another example of why Sen. McCain continues to be such an inspirational public figure. Definitely worth the read!

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Summary: Why Courage Matters : The Way to a Braver Life
Review: Concerned that the definition of courage has been watered down in late 20th-century America, Senator McCain (R-AZ) has compiled outstanding examples of truly courageous actions to offer inspiration and encouragement. He offers a variety of accounts, from the story of a mother who lost her life fighting the neighborhood drug dealer to those of servicemen and -women who risked their own lives to help others on the battlefield. Because McCain believes that courage is the underpinning of all other virtues, he implores readers to develop this quality in themselves and their children. Unfortunately, though his message comes through loud and clear, the steps one must take to increase one's courage are not as clearly outlined as one would hope; McCain rambles on, as if he were delivering a sermon that becomes more impassioned as it unwinds. This book might do well where inspirational books and parenting books on virtue are popular but otherwise is an optional purchase.-

Rating:
Summary: Courage is more than grace under fire
Review: In this short book, John McCain examines the nature of courage. In it, he finds far more than today's usual fare of synthetic Hollywood heroics, peace-at-any-cost idealism, or self-affirming mantras.

Instead, he tells stories about individuals whose courage is or was founded in principles -- particularly the principles of a free and just society. Each story is complex; heroines/heroes have blemishes; consequences are a mixed-bag. Yet all share a common theme: that courage in its simplist form, no matter how inelegant, is about standing up for what is right.

And in doing so, John McCain illustrates that courage and a meaningful life are inextricably intertwined.

Outstanding reading for those who wish to live thier best life.

Rating:
Summary: Why courage still matters -- from a genuine hero
Review: It's unlikely there's a more qualified person in America to write about physical and moral courage, a quality that is part of McCain's life from at least the start of his military career to his present role in politics.

This book offers a series of awe-inspiring stories about people with many varieties of courage, from Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma to Chief Manuelito of the Navajo Nation. Yet, it misses the central element of McCain's character -- which I think is the key to courage -- the ability to see what needs to be done, and the willingness to act. The failing may be Salter's fault; I doubt if it's due to McCain's endearing and enduring modesty.

Let's start with the premise there are three basic types of personality: those who see what needs to be done, and do it; those who see what needs to be done, and wait for someone else to do it; and those who don't know what needs to be done, and complain when anyone else does it. McCain, like others with courage, are of the first type.

During the Vietnam War, McCain flew missions over Hanoi knowing full well the Vietnamese would fire surface-to-air missiles at his aicraft. Pilots often saw those missiles coming towards them; one tactic to avoid being hit was to go into a very sharp turn. The missile, trying to follow a turning aircraft, tumbled out of control if the turn was sharp enough. It takes pure courage to play such odds.

One missile finally downed McCain. He was grievously injured. Instead of telling his captors what they wanted to hear, McCain began each day with the quiet determination to defy them. He knew such a decision virtually guaranteed him unrelenting pain. That is pure courage. He knew what his honor required, and he did it. He never expected someone else to pick up the burden he had chosen.

When faced with imminent danger, McCain has always known what needs to be done and has shown the willingness to get it done. This is the essence of courage. It applies to everyone McCain cites as an example in courage. It is the type of choice we face almost every day, our courage is measured on whether we take the easy way out or accept the pain of being true to our inner values. It is the essence of conservative values.

If read as examples of people who knew what to do when faced with difficult decisions, this book is inspiring and uplifting. It was written in response to the panic induced by the Bush administration after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; when the president fled from one air force base to another and later urged Americans to seal themselves into their homes with duct tape and plastic sheets.

As this book makes clear, you'll never find McCain or any of the people he cites duct-taping the windows of the White House with plastic sheeting or telling people to "go shopping." He isn't a man who shouts "Bring it on!" to his opponents; instead, he gets the job done. It's what makes him one of the most inspiring and trustworthy political leaders of our time.

Despite my quibbles, it's a book very worth reading if you think of courage as the ability to accept personal responsibility. It offers an appreciation of the fundamental courage of McCain and those who stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

Rating:
Summary: A purchase worth it...
Review: John has brought forward a number of real life parables to assist us in getting to the core of a common definition of courage. At times it might have been more useful to have fewer anecdotes and more of the blunt McCain we have come to know (and love). However, he appears to rally these thoughts in a powerful conclusion and makes the book a worthy read.

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Summary: Examples of Courage to Bring Out the Courage Within You
Review: John McCain brings poignant and gripping accounts of the brave acts of courage each person in this pivotal book displayed in the face of adversity.

It is both a noble account and example for all to follow, as you learn how your acts of courage, no matter how large or small, will have a tremendous rippling effect both for you, and humanity.

Through this book, you will learn that your fears are catalysts to bring out your hidden inner strengths, to better your life, as well as to be a living example of the people whose lives you tough.

A great compelling read. Highly recommended! Barbara Rose, author of, 'Individual Power' and 'If God Was Like Man'

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Summary: This Book is Unreadable!
Review: Love John McCain. Don't love this book. Between wonderful stories of individual courage, this treatise on courage and what causes people to react without respect to fear is totally unreadable jibberish. It makes no sense at all.

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Summary: "Love Makes Courage Necessary"-John McCain
Review: McCain makes me laugh, he makes me cry. In between McCain's explanations of what defines courage and what doesn't, he provides examples of people the world over who have demonstrated extraordinary acts of courage that will move you to tears. He made me laugh when he writes of how most parents usually try to teach their children to be brave as when they fall off a bicycle or horse. "We're teaching them physical skills. We're teaching them to be strong...We're building their confidence and giving them hope...These are elements of courage, but not the whole virtue...They might grow up and climb mountains or become risk-taking entrepreneurs. But is that all we think courage is? Without other instruction, they could turn out to be Enron executives.(!) They had daring, but they lacked ethics. They lacked a sense of honor, and they lacked courage."

I brought this book with me on a recent trip to bear country where I intended to read it in between hikes in the Sierras. I thought it would come in handy, for he writes, "Face the experience with quiet assurance or with a look that reflects stark terror", good advice when faced with a 300 pound bear! I spent my time reading mountaineering 101 books instead and this one got shelved for the time being (no bears in sight).

In the closing chapter, he offers advice to those who witnessed events in NYC who are still traumatized, suffering from anxieties. "Build your courage...We have something worth being brave for: liberty and justice. Feel yourself part of that grand enterprise, empowered by it, and dread the emptiness of a life that is unattached to noble purpose." "We're all afraid of something...Don't let the sensation of fear convince you that you're too weak to have courage. Fear is the opportunity for courage, not proof of cowardice."

Great practical advice, better stuff than that found in medicine bottles.