about the book
You may consider professional sports players, fashion icons, or movie stars to be heroes because you look up to them. True heroes, though, are people who act on behalf of country, friends, or strangers despite great risk to themselves. They may be afraid at the time, but they don’t let their fear overshadow their determination to help. Often, they save lives or change the outlook of a situation.
Each year, the President of the United States presents the Medal of Honor to brave Americans who have performed exceptional acts of courage. This book chronicles many heroes from WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the wars in Afghanistan, and Iraq who were the recipients of the Medal of Honor.
Many of the heroes didn’t start out as brave men. Some were angry, troubled young boys who, only later, grew up to become men of exceptional character. Some were treated poorly by authorities or even other soldiers because of their skin color, nationality, or their personal beliefs. All the more remarkable, is that they frequently saved the lives of those who persecuted them.
The Medal of Honor society also awards citizen bravery, such as Jencie Fagan, a middle school teacher who shielded several students during a school shooting in Reno, Nevada. She calmly talked to the shooter and persuaded him to put down his gun.
The stories in Choosing Courage prove that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what skills you have; heroes can rise up regardless of their background. What kind of hero will you be?
about the author
Peter Collier is a writer and publisher living in Nevada City, California. He was born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1939 and studied English at the University of California, Berkley. After earning his degree, he taught English and was an instructor at Berkley off and on throughout his life. In the 1960s and 70s, he became involved in many political causes, such as civil rights.
He has been called “America’s premier biographer of dynastic tragedy” for his autobiographies of the Rockefeller, the Kennedy, and the Roosevelt families. He is the founding publisher of Encounter books, which publishes books on politics, history, and religion.
Choosing Courage : Inspiring Stories of What It Means to Be a Hero, is his first young adult book.
Source:
Author biography: Workman
Author biography: Wikipedia
Newspaper article: Los Angeles Times
Author biography: Encounter
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