Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life
by John McCain, Marshall Salter

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Book Reviews of Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life

Book Review: Courage -- the American view -- from a true hero
Summary: 5 Stars

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.

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