Profiles in Courage
THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING CLASSIC OF POLITICAL INTEGRITY
With a foreword by Robert F. Kennedy and introduction by Caroline Kennedy
John F. Kennedy’s enduring classic resounds with timeless lessons on the most cherished of virtues—courage and patriotism—and remains a moving, powerful, and relevant testament to the indomitable American spirit
During 1954-55, Kennedy, then a junior senator from the state of Massachusetts, profiled eight American patriots, mainly United States Senators, who at crucial moments in our nation’s history, revealed a special sort of greatness: men who disregarded dreadful consequences to their public and private lives to do that one thing which seemed right in itself. They were men of various political and regional allegiances—their one overriding loyalty was to the United States.
Courage such as these men shared, Kennedy makes clear, is central to all morality—a man does what he must in spite of personal consequences—and these exciting stories suggest that, without in the least disparaging the courage with which men die, we should not overlook the true greatness adorning those acts of courage with which men must live.
As Robert F. Kennedy writes in the foreword, Profiles in Courage “is not just stories of the past but a book of hope and confidence for the future. What happens to the country, to the world, depends on what we do with what others have left us."
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Community Reviews
I can't even handle discussing Taft's opposition to the Nuremberg Trials. This is a "courage" example.
This book gives no background into the history of how the Constitution was set up with the expectation that politicians would stand up for their conscience above their political parties and wrote in a number of measures to help them do so- such as by not logging the name of the voter.
Finally, even though the book is short, the middle of the book is painfully boring.
I love John F. Kennedy, and I read that Ted Sorenson mostly wrote this book, but that's no excuse. I assume he read this before he put his name on it. I don't understand why this won a Pulitzer.
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