Courage Can Save Us - by Rye Barcott (Hardcover)

About the Book

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLER
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER
#1 Nonfiction Bestseller, Publishers Weekly

From a U.S. Marine and co-founder of With Honor, and written ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, comes the story of principled veterans who work across party lines to shape our nation and inspire us to serve with courage in our own lives.

*Mikie Sherrill * Todd Young *Mark Kelly * Brian Fitzpatrick * Wes Moore * Dan Crenshaw * Seth Moulton * John James * Don Bacon * Jared Golden*

Book Synopsis

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLER
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER
#1 Nonfiction Bestseller, Publishers Weekly

From a U.S. Marine and co-founder of With Honor, and written ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, comes the story of principled veterans who work across party lines to shape our nation and inspire us to serve with courage in our own lives.

* Mikie Sherrill * Todd Young *Mark Kelly * Brian Fitzpatrick * Wes Moore * Dan Crenshaw * Seth Moulton * John James * Don Bacon * Jared Golden *

When most Americans think of acts of courage, elected office is rarely the first place they look. And while more Americans than ever reject party labels, the political arena remains dominated by the loudest voices at each extreme. This moment demands leaders willing to govern across party lines, resist the incentives of modern politics, and choose courage over outrage.

One group is uniquely suited to meet that challenge: America's veterans. Courage Can Save US follows nine veterans and a former FBI agent-five Democrats and five Republicans-who have carried the ethic of service from the battlefield into public life. Ambitious and altruistic, forthright and flawed, they confront the moral and personal costs of leadership in an unsettled age: public attacks, private doubt, and the risk of losing everything they have worked for in service of the common good.

More than a collection of political profiles, Courage Can Save US is a portrait of a bipartisan generation of post-9/11 leaders striving to rise above polarization and a culture of contempt. It is an examination of courage in its many forms-and a challenge to all of us to consider how courage can strengthen our democracy, and our own lives.

Review Quotes

"A call to elevate moral courage as a prime value in national politics . . . the author's accounts highlight the warts-and-all humanity of his subjects . . . A refreshingly constructive view of what Congress could be." --Kirkus Reviews

"For much of the twentieth century, military service helped shape American leadership. Nearly two thirds of our presidents wore the nation's uniform, and in the decades after World War II, veterans held the majority of seats in Congress- an era when bipartisanship flourished. In Courage Can Save US, Rye Barcott shines a dramatic spotlight on nine veterans and an FBI agent-men and women, Republicans and Democrats-now serving in elected office across the country. Forged in service and tested by sacrifice, their inspiring stories reveal how courage, character, and common purpose can still renew our democracy-and restore hope for its future." --Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of Leadership: In Turbulent Times

"Rye Barcott and I came of age as Marines in Iraq. We carry the costs of the post-9/11 wars and the questions they left behind about our country's character and what kind of leadership it demands. So do many of the ten Americans he profiles. He writes about these elected officials with candor, clarity, and hard-earned understanding. An important book for our generation-and for the country we still believe in." --Elliot Ackerman, National Book Award finalist and author of 2034 and Sheepdogs

"These are the times that buy men's souls. Thank God, some souls are not for sale. Politics has never been a refuge for the pure. Ambition, compromise, and pressure come with the territory. Yet the stories in this book remind us that even there-especially there-courage still emerges. In these tightly paced portraits, Rye Barcott shows how imperfect men and women who have worn the cloth of the nation choose service over self-interest at moments of consequence. A bracing and hopeful account of character in a divided chapter of our national life." --Karl Marlantes, author of Matterhorn and What It Is Like to Go to War

"Rye Barcott has written the book his country needs at this moment. I thought I knew about some of the public figures he portrays here. But page by page, Courage Can Save US keeps delivering surprises-and encouragement, which makes good on the promise of its title. You'll be glad to have read it." --James Fallows, author of 11 books, recipient of the National Book Award

"Rye Barcott's spectacular book on Courage shares moving stories of military and public leaders who are role models in these challenging times. They teach us all how to be courageous-an essential quality that is lacking in many leaders." --Bill George, author of True North and former Harvard Business School professor of leadership

"The ten Americans join forces out of the shared belief that this is the greatest country in the world, and that we are never stronger than when Americans work together instead of tearing each other apart. An absolutely captivating and urgently needed book." --Andrew Carroll, New York Times bestselling author of Letters of a Nation, War Letters, and Behind the Lines

"Rye Barcott has done a great public service by writing about ten courageous American leaders. Hard to put this wonderfully researched book down." --David Rubenstein, author of Speaking of America and Co-Founder of the Carlyle Group

"Rye Barcott has written a thoughtful and timely book about courage, a quality that once was far more prevalent in public life . . . The United States has always renewed itself through individuals prepared to shoulder responsibility during difficult times. Courage Can Save US ultimately is a hopeful book because it reminds readers that such Americans still exist-and the future of the republic will depend on whether we choose to follow their example."" --General James Mattis

"We do need saving-from ourselves! This book tells of those who transcend partisanship and faction while remaining true to their oath to 'support and defend the Constitution.' It is the standard by which we should evaluate those who seek elected office." --H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty and At War with Ourselves

"Rye Barcott profiles veterans now serving in public office who have asked not what their country could do for them, but what they can do for their country. This book will encourage and inspire you. Semper Fi, Mr. Barcott!" --Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire and The War of Art

"At a time of deep national division and dismal confidence in Congress, Rye has written a timely book. He profiles 10 Americans-Democrats and Republicans-who served with honor and courage. Nine veterans and one former FBI agent made politically unpopular but principled choices. Every voter should ask whether they are choosing leaders with the same character." --Theodore Roosevelt IV, Vietnam Veteran, former Navy SEAL

"At a moment when our politics too often divides us, Courage Can Save US reminds us what unites us. Rye Barcott's gripping account of ten Americans - five Democrats, five Republicans, all forged by service - is a portrait of the country at its best, written for the country we are becoming. I hope every American reads it, and that it finds a particular home in classrooms across the nation as we mark our 250th year." --Rosie Rios, Chair, America250; 43rd Treasurer of the United States

"Barcott . . . [demonstrates] how public service skills learned in [his subjects'] varied military careers carry over to successful political endeavors. Such efforts help us all. He shows how these elected officials implemented successful bills through a deeply divided Congress to serve all their constituents, not just party supporters." --Decatur Daily

About the Author

Rye Barcott is a Marine Corps veteran, social entrepreneur, investor, and New York Times-bestselling author of Courage Can Save US. He is co-founder and CEO of With Honor, a cross-partisan organization that fights polarization by supporting principled veteran leadership in public office. As a college student, he co-founded CFK Africa, a locally led youth leadership and public health non-governmental organization based in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya. He later co-founded and led Double Time Capital, a solar power investment firm. His first book, It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace, juxtaposes humanitarian and military service in Kenya and Iraq. Dartmouth College awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.

www.couragecansaveus.com
www.withhonor.org