Profiles in Courage: Decisive Moments in the Lives of Celebrated Americans [FIST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING Of 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION]

Kennedy, John F.

Published by Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 2006

About this Item

Fine condition white boards, red cloth spine, and gold spine lettering contained in a very good condition color illustrated dust jacket, which is in turn contained within a fine condition black cloth slipcase with an approximately 3 1/2 inch by 2 1/2 inch color illustrated front cover title pastedown with a gold perimeter border decoration and gold lettering. Includes List of Other Books by John F. Kennedy; Author Dedication; Preface by John F. Kennedy; Preliminary Page Quote by Edmund Burke; Bibliography and Index. Also includes a bound-into-the-volume matching red satin ribbon page marker and the original 50th Anniversary Gift Edition flyer in fine condition. Two very small 1/16th inch repairs at upper jacket spine corners. "50th Anniversary Gift Edition, Profiles in Courage, John F. Kennedy, The Pulitzer Prize-winning classic. During 1954-55, John F. Kennedy, then a junior senator from the state of Massachusetts, profiled eight American patriots at different junctures in our nation's history for their acts of astounding integrity in the face of overwhelming opposition. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1957, Profiles in Courage resounds with timeless lessons on the most cherished of virtues and is a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit. This special gift edition features a cloth slipcase, the original book jacket design, and a ribbon marker." - from the 50th Anniversary Gift Edition flyer. "In 1954-1955, John F. Kennedy's active role as a Senator in the affairs of the nation was interrupted for the better part of a yeaqr by his convalescence from an operation to correct a disability incurred as a skipper of a World War II torpedo boat. He used his "idle" hours to great advantage; he rediscovered, and did intensive research into, the courage and patriotism of a handful of AMericans who at crucial moments in history had 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. These men ranged from the extraordinarily colorful to the near drab; from the born aristocrates to the self-made. They were men of various political and regional allegiances - their one overriding loyalty was to the United States and to the right as God gave them to see it. There was John Quincy Adams, who lost his Senate seat and was reputiated in Boston for his support of his father's enemy Thomas Jefferson; Sam Houston, who performed political acts of courage as dramatic as his heroism on the field of battle; Thomas Hart Benton, whose proud and sarcastic tongue fought against the overwhelming odds that insured his political death; and Edmond Ross who "looked down into his open grave: as he saved President Johnson from an impeachment; and Norris of Nebraska; and Taft of Ohio; and Lamar of Mississippi (who did as much as any one man to heal the wounds of civil war). There was Daniel Webster, scourged for his devotion to Union by the most talented array of constituents ever to attack a Senator. For the most part Kennedy's patriots are United States Senators, but he also pays tribute to such men as Governor Altgeld of Illinois and Charles Evans Hughes of New York. And in the opening and closing chapters, which are as inspiring as they are revealing, Kennedy draws on his personal experience to tell something of the satisfactions and burdens of a Senator's job - of the pressures, both outward and inward - and of the standards by which a man of principle must work and live. John F. Kennedy has used wonderful skill in transforming the facts of history into dramatic personal stories. There are suspense, color and inspiration here, but first of all there is extraordinary understanding of that intangible thing called courage. 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 ." - excerpt from the inner front and rear jacket flaps. Seller Inventory # 007822

Bibliographic Details

Title: Profiles in Courage: Decisive Moments in the...

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, New York

Publication Date: 2006

Binding: Hardcover

Illustrator: Grushkin, Phil (original jacket design)

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

Edition: 1st Edition