Dylan's review

Profiles in Courage (Perennial Classics)
by John F. Kennedy

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/884905.Profiles_in_Courage?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Profiles in Courage (Perennial Classics)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179180567m/884905.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/884905.Profiles_in_Courage?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Profiles in Courage</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3047.John_F_Kennedy">John F. Kennedy</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7717028?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 4 of 5 stars Profiles in Courage is a compilation of snapshots of historical figures at moments, where despite public or party scorn, and often to the extreme detriment of their careers, Senators chose the unpopular path because of personal conviction. It is worth noting that the book itself is not altogether unrepresentative of the principle Senator Kennedy was writing about. To take on this project when he did, recovering from spinal surgery, preparing for what was soon to be a run for the presidency, taking the nature of American politics head-on, was in itself an act of courage. 
 
 The descriptions of the characters and their fight for what they believed in takes the reader across nearly two centuries. Beginning with John Adams' unwavering defense of the British troops following the Boston Massacre, Kennnedy follows this vein of courage through the lifeblood of American politics. Highlighting such constitutional stands as Edmund Ross' vote to acquit embattled President Johnson on impeachment charges in 1868, and Lucius Lamar's successful defense of a Senator's independence from State legislative control, Kennedy not only describes courageous figures but moments in history that have dramatically shaped the present. And John Kennedy does not shy away from attaching the principle of courage to more recently unpopular positions, such as Robert Taft's speech in 1946 condemning the failure of the Nuremburg trials to follow the principle of ex post facto, resulting in such controversial conclusions as reducing the death sentence for Nazi war criminals to life in prison. 
 
 John Kennedy ends the book, in what represents the finest chapter of Profiles in Courage, with a summation of what qualities the Senators, he describes in the preceding chapters, shared in common. He comes to a final conclusion that is perhaps best illustrated by John Adams statement that "It is not true, in fact, that any people ever existed who loved the public better than themselves." His point, and I believe it's a very good one, is that courage is most often, if not always, tied to personal pride and love for oneself. This does not mean that a Senator or public official does not act in the best interest of the people; on the contrary the public servant driven by their own personal morals will go beyond what is required to attain justice.
 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/303446?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Dylan's review
rating:

bookshelves: american-history, political-philosophy, politicalbiography
recommended for: All Americans
status: Read in October, 2007

Profiles in Courage is a compilation of snapshots of historical figures at moments, where despite public or party scorn, and often to the extreme detriment of their careers, Senators chose the unpopular path because of personal conviction. It is worth noting that the book itself is not altogether unrepresentative of the principle Senator Kennedy was writing about. To take on this project when he did, recovering from spinal surgery, preparing for what was soon to be a run for the presidency, taking the nature of American politics head-on, was in itself an act of courage.

The descriptions of the characters and their fight for what they believed in takes the reader across nearly two centuries. Beginning with John Adams' unwavering defense of the British troops following the Boston Massacre, Kennnedy follows this vein of courage through the lifeblood of American politics. Highlighting such constitutional stands as Edmund Ross' vote to acquit embattled President Johnson on impeachm...more Profiles in Courage is a compilation of snapshots of historical figures at moments, where despite public or party scorn, and often to the extreme detriment of their careers, Senators chose the unpopular path because of personal conviction. It is worth noting that the book itself is not altogether unrepresentative of the principle Senator Kennedy was writing about. To take on this project when he did, recovering from spinal surgery, preparing for what was soon to be a run for the presidency, taking the nature of American politics head-on, was in itself an act of courage.

The descriptions of the characters and their fight for what they believed in takes the reader across nearly two centuries. Beginning with John Adams' unwavering defense of the British troops following the Boston Massacre, Kennnedy follows this vein of courage through the lifeblood of American politics. Highlighting such constitutional stands as Edmund Ross' vote to acquit embattled President Johnson on impeachment charges in 1868, and Lucius Lamar's successful defense of a Senator's independence from State legislative control, Kennedy not only describes courageous figures but moments in history that have dramatically shaped the present. And John Kennedy does not shy away from attaching the principle of courage to more recently unpopular positions, such as Robert Taft's speech in 1946 condemning the failure of the Nuremburg trials to follow the principle of ex post facto, resulting in such controversial conclusions as reducing the death sentence for Nazi war criminals to life in prison.

John Kennedy ends the book, in what represents the finest chapter of Profiles in Courage, with a summation of what qualities the Senators, he describes in the preceding chapters, shared in common. He comes to a final conclusion that is perhaps best illustrated by John Adams statement that "It is not true, in fact, that any people ever existed who loved the public better than themselves." His point, and I believe it's a very good one, is that courage is most often, if not always, tied to personal pride and love for oneself. This does not mean that a Senator or public official does not act in the best interest of the people; on the contrary the public servant driven by their own personal morals will go beyond what is required to attain justice.
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