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Profiles in Courage for Our Time
Nearly half a century after then-Senator John F. Kennedy was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Profiles in Courage, the Kennedy family continues to keep alive the tradition of honoring selfless public service with its Profiles in Courage Award. Now in paperback, Profiles in Courage for Our Time pays tribute to 13 such heroes in the same spirit as the original collection. Some of our greatest writers have brought their formidable talents to this celebration of modern political bravery including Michael Beschloss, Anna Quindlen, Bob Woodward, and Marian Wright Edelman. Also included is Caroline Kennedy's profile of the latest award recipient, Kofi Annan. These are just a few of the luminaries who eloquently and passionately record the experiences of the award winners. This celebration of modern political bravery demonstrates that heroism among today's elected officials is as possible and inspiring as ever. "The Profiles in Courage Award seeks to honor those whose lives of service prove that politics can be a noble profession. We hope that Americans realize that there are men and women serving at all levels of our government who are legends of our time." --Caroline Kennedy
362 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2002
16 people are currently reading
370 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Kennedy
40 books146 followersLibrarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is an American author and attorney. She is the daughter and only surviving child of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. An older sister, Arabella, died shortly after her birth in 1956. Brother John F. Kennedy, Jr. died in a plane crash in 1999. Another brother, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy died two days after his birth in 1963.
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is an American author and attorney. She is the daughter and only surviving child of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. An older sister, Arabella, died shortly after her birth in 1956. Brother John F. Kennedy, Jr. died in a plane crash in 1999. Another brother, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy died two days after his birth in 1963.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 25, 2018
This book was fantastic! Various authors wrote stories about the recipients of the JFK Profile in Courage awards from 1990 to 2002. It is full of wonderful tales of public servants who stood up to injustice and risked their careers and even their lives to try to make our world a better place. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to help be a change agent for the betterment of mankind. I also recommend it for people who are disillusioned with our current political situation in both the USA and the rest of the world. It is a book of action and a book of hope!
May 19, 2019
JFK originally wrote a book called Profiles in courage which profiled a group of American mainly in and around his team and maybe before who had had the courage to go against the grain of society. They were true profiles in courage. Subsequently in 1989 a profiles in courage award was created. Caroline kennedy here does the same thing but honour american politicians of her time. There were some really interesting brave characters here who committed professional suicide and sometimes even had death threats and attempts against them for what they believed in. Here are some of my best bits:
Definition of courage: grace under pressure.
Charles longstreet weltner: Mr speaker we need not so much new paragraphs in the books of law, as new precepts in the hearts of men. We need to raise and follow this standard, as old as christianity and as simple as truth - let right be done.
Lowell weicker jr: Don't be afraid to lose. If you're not afraid to lose , you’ll make your mark in politics.
Henry B gonzalez: He boxed in the local gymnasiums. He kept reading, absorbing the true riches of the world.
Henry B gonzalez: he had embarked on one of the most glorious filibusters in the states history. He talked and he talked and he talked. Other Men went to sleep or out to tea. Henry B talked or 36 amazing hours, sucking on lemons and raisins to soothe his throat.
Henry B Gonzalez: people will respond to you if they can believe that you say. People will trust you if you keep your word. People will respect you if you respect yourself. If you lay out the problem accurately and you propose a reasonable solution, people will give you a chance notwithstanding your heritage or race.
Martin Luther king: human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a superficial look at history reveals that no social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. Every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.
Charles Price: courage cannot be taught to you. Instead it emanates from your principles, your values, and your moral and ethical beliefs. It takes courage to rebuke popularly held opinions. It takes courage to travel the road less travelled. The courage of one protects the rights of all those who are effected.
Nickolas C Murnion: in the end that empathy is the rarest display of courage, the kind that heals.
John Alderdice: When you champion your own community, they may well back you. And when you accept the challenge of leadership of your own community, they may follow you. But when you accept the challenge of confronting your own community, you risk rejection and alienation. But it is nevertheless the height of courage.
John Hume: as we do that together rather than waving flags and calling names we will break down the barriers of centuries. Better to spill sweat than blood.
George J Mitchell: this sounds corny but it's not. If you really believe in what you're doing, you can tolerate almost anything in order to achieve it.
Irish troubles: the simple common sense that Hume had been championing for three nerve fraying health wracking decades seemed to have finally prevailed. The death toll stood however at 3,592.
John McCain: on the third night i lay in my own blood and waste, so tired and hurt that i could not move. The North Vietnamese prick came in with 2 other guards, lifted me to my feet and gave me the worst beating i had yet experienced. At one point he slammed his fist into my face and knocked me across the room towards the waste bucket. I fell on the bucket hitting it with my already broken arm and then broke it again. They left me lying on the floor moaning for the stabbing pain in my re-fractured arm. I tried to take my own life at that point.
Russell feingold: but a moth after the worst terrorism in american history struck on september 11, 2001, Russ Feingold was the sole member of the united states senate to vote against an anti-terrorism bill. Others shared his concerns about the legislations broad reaching provisions that seemed to sanction unfettered surveillance and virtually unlimited detention in the name of fighting terrorism.
John lewis: i could see that this was an attempt to break us down, to humiliate and to dehumanise us, to rob us of our identity and self worth. I had read that such methods were used by oppressors throughout history. When we were finally led, 2 by 2, into a shower room guarded by a sergeant with a rifle, i thought of the concentration camps in germany. This was 1961 in USA, yet here were were treated like animals for using the wrong bathroom.
John lewis: Some of the deepest most delicious moments of my life were getting out of jail … finding my way to the nearest freedom house, taking a good long shower, putting on a pair of jeans and a fresh shirt and going to some little, side of the road juke joint where id order a ham burger or cheese sandwich and a cold soda and walk over to the juke box and stand there with a quarter in my hand and look over every song in that box because the choice had to be just right and then i would finally drop that quarter and punch up marvin gaye or curtis mayfield or aretha and i would let the music wash over me and i don't know if i’d ever felt anything so sweet. (doesn't that paragraph just make you immediately smile!)
Definition of courage: grace under pressure.
Charles longstreet weltner: Mr speaker we need not so much new paragraphs in the books of law, as new precepts in the hearts of men. We need to raise and follow this standard, as old as christianity and as simple as truth - let right be done.
Lowell weicker jr: Don't be afraid to lose. If you're not afraid to lose , you’ll make your mark in politics.
Henry B gonzalez: He boxed in the local gymnasiums. He kept reading, absorbing the true riches of the world.
Henry B gonzalez: he had embarked on one of the most glorious filibusters in the states history. He talked and he talked and he talked. Other Men went to sleep or out to tea. Henry B talked or 36 amazing hours, sucking on lemons and raisins to soothe his throat.
Henry B Gonzalez: people will respond to you if they can believe that you say. People will trust you if you keep your word. People will respect you if you respect yourself. If you lay out the problem accurately and you propose a reasonable solution, people will give you a chance notwithstanding your heritage or race.
Martin Luther king: human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a superficial look at history reveals that no social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. Every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.
Charles Price: courage cannot be taught to you. Instead it emanates from your principles, your values, and your moral and ethical beliefs. It takes courage to rebuke popularly held opinions. It takes courage to travel the road less travelled. The courage of one protects the rights of all those who are effected.
Nickolas C Murnion: in the end that empathy is the rarest display of courage, the kind that heals.
John Alderdice: When you champion your own community, they may well back you. And when you accept the challenge of leadership of your own community, they may follow you. But when you accept the challenge of confronting your own community, you risk rejection and alienation. But it is nevertheless the height of courage.
John Hume: as we do that together rather than waving flags and calling names we will break down the barriers of centuries. Better to spill sweat than blood.
George J Mitchell: this sounds corny but it's not. If you really believe in what you're doing, you can tolerate almost anything in order to achieve it.
Irish troubles: the simple common sense that Hume had been championing for three nerve fraying health wracking decades seemed to have finally prevailed. The death toll stood however at 3,592.
John McCain: on the third night i lay in my own blood and waste, so tired and hurt that i could not move. The North Vietnamese prick came in with 2 other guards, lifted me to my feet and gave me the worst beating i had yet experienced. At one point he slammed his fist into my face and knocked me across the room towards the waste bucket. I fell on the bucket hitting it with my already broken arm and then broke it again. They left me lying on the floor moaning for the stabbing pain in my re-fractured arm. I tried to take my own life at that point.
Russell feingold: but a moth after the worst terrorism in american history struck on september 11, 2001, Russ Feingold was the sole member of the united states senate to vote against an anti-terrorism bill. Others shared his concerns about the legislations broad reaching provisions that seemed to sanction unfettered surveillance and virtually unlimited detention in the name of fighting terrorism.
John lewis: i could see that this was an attempt to break us down, to humiliate and to dehumanise us, to rob us of our identity and self worth. I had read that such methods were used by oppressors throughout history. When we were finally led, 2 by 2, into a shower room guarded by a sergeant with a rifle, i thought of the concentration camps in germany. This was 1961 in USA, yet here were were treated like animals for using the wrong bathroom.
John lewis: Some of the deepest most delicious moments of my life were getting out of jail … finding my way to the nearest freedom house, taking a good long shower, putting on a pair of jeans and a fresh shirt and going to some little, side of the road juke joint where id order a ham burger or cheese sandwich and a cold soda and walk over to the juke box and stand there with a quarter in my hand and look over every song in that box because the choice had to be just right and then i would finally drop that quarter and punch up marvin gaye or curtis mayfield or aretha and i would let the music wash over me and i don't know if i’d ever felt anything so sweet. (doesn't that paragraph just make you immediately smile!)
October 22, 2008
People you can look up to, whether you have heard of them or not. Caroline's update of the original by her dad.
October 9, 2023
I am deeply disappointed after reading this book. NOT by the book itself; it's an excellent collection of brief biographies and acts of political courage, written by some of the finest journalists of the time. My disappointment is in what America has become in the 20+ years since the book's publication in 2002. We have failed to live up to the examples shown, to the aims and ideals of Lowell Weicker, John McCain, Henry B. Gonzalez, John Lewis, and Kofi Annan. The only subjects in this volume whose work has lasted are the peacemakers of Northern Ireland. Otherwise we have failed. Afghanistan was not rebuilt as Mr. Annan dreamed, but has been handed back to the 12th-century creatures from whom we briefly wrested it. Senator McCain's attempt to take away the pervasive effects of dark money from the election process has fallen by the wayside, even more since the Citizens United debacle. Mr. Gonzalez's & Mr. Lewis's dream of a genuinely equal America is threatened every day by the collapse of the Voting Rights Act and the actions of many states. The USA of 2023 is balanced on a knife's edge, in grave danger of disintegrating into exactly what Ireland was in the last decades of the 20th century: a society so divided by hatreds & prejudices that its citizens kill each other routinely for "political" excuses. We are at the tipping point, and we have failed.
April 8, 2023
Some excellent writers, such as Michael Beschloss, E.J. Dionne, Anna Quindlen, and Marian Write Edelman, were asked to write about a Congress person who showed courage and grace under pressure. While three of the writers are women, only one woman, Hilda Solis, was selected to be included, among the the 11 chosen for the book.
While the book was published in 2002, both the gender and the people of color inequality are very apparent. Only Henry Gonzalez and Hilda Solis are people of color chosen to be included. However, I do see that an effort to include The Irish Peacemakers, was intended to add diversity to the 11 selected, it seemed like an odd inclusion. And not one black person, whose daily life shows courage and grace under pressure, was selected for inclusion.
But one fine essay, written by Albert R. Hunt about John McCain and Russell Feingold, was a heart-warming salute to greatness. Clearly both men could have been separated and would have still made the list.
Thank you for noticing greatness in our time. Especially poignant, a few days after two black Congressmen were expelled from the Tennessee State Congress, for standing up for their constituents--challenging the status quo of doing nothing about gun violence, especially after three 9-year olds and three adults were gunned down at a private school.
While the book was published in 2002, both the gender and the people of color inequality are very apparent. Only Henry Gonzalez and Hilda Solis are people of color chosen to be included. However, I do see that an effort to include The Irish Peacemakers, was intended to add diversity to the 11 selected, it seemed like an odd inclusion. And not one black person, whose daily life shows courage and grace under pressure, was selected for inclusion.
But one fine essay, written by Albert R. Hunt about John McCain and Russell Feingold, was a heart-warming salute to greatness. Clearly both men could have been separated and would have still made the list.
Thank you for noticing greatness in our time. Especially poignant, a few days after two black Congressmen were expelled from the Tennessee State Congress, for standing up for their constituents--challenging the status quo of doing nothing about gun violence, especially after three 9-year olds and three adults were gunned down at a private school.
January 3, 2021
This is a fine collection of essays on the recipients of the Profiles in Courage Award from 1990 to 2001. Each piece is informative and presents a portrait of the subject that fully evokes the reason why each was honored with this prestigious award. There are three pieces that alone make the book worth reading: Pete Hamill on Henry B. Gonzalez, Ron Suskind on Nickolas C. Murnion, and Michael Daly on The Irish Peacemakers.
July 7, 2017
This is the modern version of President Kennedy's Profiles in Courage. It has amazing stories, especially around the civil rights area. Caroline Kennedy picked most of the stories from children of the original book. It was great to read about John Mccain and Diane Finestien both of which are fierce in their respective parties. I'd recommend reading the original by JFK first
July 27, 2017
Was hard to keep up with reading it because it was so depressing how those who stood up for a principle lost their next run for office.
But I kept on and was rewarded with happier stories in the lot. Henry B Gonzalez, Charles Price, and John Lewis were the high points.
But I kept on and was rewarded with happier stories in the lot. Henry B Gonzalez, Charles Price, and John Lewis were the high points.
March 15, 2024
I had been so inspired by the original that I was excited to read this one. Unfortunately, this one could have been better edited and 50 pages shorter. Some of the stories were exciting but others dragged on with details that really weren’t necessary.
September 11, 2019
Read for book club. Variety of modern day characters are profiled.
October 19, 2023
Some stories are better than others. It is well worth the read.
November 5, 2013
This book edited in 2002 by Caroline Kennedyfollows the spirit of the original Profiles in Courage written by her father for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize. It features the winners of the Profile in Courage award from 1990 to 2002. Each story is unique and highlights local, state, national and international politicians who defy the odds and often go against the grain to do what they believe to be the right thing rather than the more politically expedient thing. From small town judges and mayors, those involved in civil rights issues to Feingold and McCain for campaign finance reform to Gerald Ford for choosing to heal the nation after Watergate rather than seal an reelection and even to the heroes of 9/11 and to the Irish Peacemakers for sticking tight to the peace process, all of these stories are written by a variety of people who were inspired and uplifted by these strong men and women. They did not choose the easy path. Instead these so honored chose a path often of greatest resistance but they did so with integrity and an easy conscience. Maybe many of our current politicians need to read both of these books and try to see things from a different perspective.
November 1, 2011
I read Profiles in Courage for Our Time shortly after it came out. Caroline Kennedyhad several authors write the story of various recipients of the Profile in Courage Award presented by the Kennedy family in memory of John F. Kennedy. Each author has a unique way of presenting their respect award recipient. In all fairness I have to admit I read the book because I was a personal friend of Nickolas Murnion, the 1998 recipient of the Profile in Courage Award. His story I remember much better after almost 10 years. Ron Suskind, writing on Nickolas Murnion, is much more of a story teller when compared to the other authors. Each story shows the courage put forth by each of the award recipients. I would recommend this book.
January 11, 2008
The "profiles" in this update to JFK's classic, are varied in both their subjects and their presentation. These accounts are not uniform in quality. Most stirring are those with a personal flavor such as Bob Woodward's profile of Gerald Ford, wherein we see a hidden profile of Woodward as well. However, others seem either too detached or tediously narrative, such as Michael Daly's "The Irish Peacemakers" which outlines the alphabet soup of the political/religious strife in Ireland, but does little to connect the overall themes of courage to anything outside the situation.
It is a good read, but not all the selections hold interest. I'd recommend particular excerpts for good classroom reading. I also commend the acknowledgement of politicians, leaders, and activists on both local and global levels.
It is a good read, but not all the selections hold interest. I'd recommend particular excerpts for good classroom reading. I also commend the acknowledgement of politicians, leaders, and activists on both local and global levels.
August 18, 2023
* Carl Elliott, Sr.
* Charles Longstreet Weltner
* Lowell Weicker
* James Florio
* Henry B. Gonzalez
* Michael L. Sonar
* Corkin Cherubini
* Charles Price
* Nickolas C. Murnion
* The Irish Peacemakers
* John McCain and Russell Feingold
* Hilda Solis - CA State Senator - worked to pass CA Senate Bill 115 - designed to
Implement new legal guidelines in the identification and mitigation of the negative
Environmental and health effects of pollution and waste-disposal facilities on low-
Income and minority populations.
* Gerald R. Ford
* John Lewis
* Heroes of September 11
* Dean Koldenhoven
* Kofi Annan
* Charles Longstreet Weltner
* Lowell Weicker
* James Florio
* Henry B. Gonzalez
* Michael L. Sonar
* Corkin Cherubini
* Charles Price
* Nickolas C. Murnion
* The Irish Peacemakers
* John McCain and Russell Feingold
* Hilda Solis - CA State Senator - worked to pass CA Senate Bill 115 - designed to
Implement new legal guidelines in the identification and mitigation of the negative
Environmental and health effects of pollution and waste-disposal facilities on low-
Income and minority populations.
* Gerald R. Ford
* John Lewis
* Heroes of September 11
* Dean Koldenhoven
* Kofi Annan
February 22, 2012
This collection of profiles of public servants echoes the original Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy. The book was very inspiring and was an uplifting look at a political world that often is only written about negatively (and increasingly, written about in hate-filled language). Stories of Senators crossing party lines and politicians placing their reelection chances in jeopardy to do what they think is right are certainly appropriate for this time, as much as they were in then-Senator Kennedy's time.
December 15, 2008
It took me nearly a year to read this book becase I did not particularly enjoy it. I believe in finishing what you start though and actually did not finish the book I had started to read prior to this one. I did learn a lot about history and the "movers & shakers" of recent political history which was interesting but I'm glad to be moving on to a more entertaining book.
October 16, 2012
Excellent! Good reference to campaign finance reform (John McCain, Russ Feingold), makes references to race tracking in schools, gun control, raising taxes. Highlights courageous opinions, knowing it may cost them (elected officials) their next election. Covers both parties. Interesting.
October 19, 2008
Congresswoman Hilda Solis is profiled in this book. I give this to the student that I place in her office every year.
November 29, 2010
This book chronicled the accomplishments of some individuals that have made a difference in our world. Good stories.
Caroline Kennedy introduced and Edited this. Well done
Caroline Kennedy introduced and Edited this. Well done
January 24, 2014
Inspiring
September 12, 2016
LOVED this book! Fantastic, encouraging...
October 8, 2014
I am not political in any sense. But I enjoyed this book because I learned. There are some figures that were unknown to me but have piqued my interest to want to learn more.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews