Profiles in Courage - by John F Kennedy

About the Book

Book Synopsis

THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
CLASSIC OF POLITICAL INTEGRITY

With a foreword by Robert
F. Kennedy and introduction by Caroline Kennedy

John F. Kennedy's enduring
classic resounds with timeless lessons on the most cherished of virtues--courage
and patriotism--and remains a moving, powerful, and relevant testament to the
indomitable American spirit

During
1954-55, Kennedy, then a junior senator from the state of Massachusetts,
profiled eight American patriots, mainly United States Senators, who at crucial
moments in our nation's history, revealed a special sort of greatness: men who
disregarded dreadful consequences to their public and private lives to do that
one thing which seemed right in itself. They were men of various political and
regional allegiances--their one overriding loyalty was to the United States.

Courage
such as these men shared, Kennedy makes clear, is central to all morality--a man
does what he must in spite of personal consequences--and these exciting stories
suggest that, without in the least disparaging the courage with which men die,
we should not overlook the true greatness adorning those acts of courage with
which men must live.

As Robert F.
Kennedy writes in the foreword, Profiles in Courage "is not just stories of the past but a
book of hope and confidence for the future. What happens to the country, to the
world, depends on what we do with what others have left us."

This
special "P.S." edition of the book commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the book's
publication. It includes vintage photographs and an extensive author biography,
and features Kennedy's correspondence about the writing project, contemporary
reviews of the book, a letter from Ernest Hemingway, and two rousing speeches from
recipients of the Profile in Courage Award.

From the Back Cover

Written in 1955 by the then junior senator from the state of Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage served as a clarion call to every American. The inspiring true accounts of eight unsung heroic acts by American patriots at different junctures in our nation's history, Kennedy's book became required reading, an instant classic, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Now, a half-century later, it remains a moving, powerful, and relevant testament to the indomitable national spirit and an unparalleled celebration of that most noble of human virtues.

This special "P.S." edition of Profiles in Courage commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the book's publication. Included in this new edition, along with vintage photographs and an extensive author biography, are Kennedy's correspondence about the writing project, contemporary reviews of the book, a letter from Ernest Hemingway, and two rousing speeches from recipients of the Profile in Courage Award.

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