About this product: Books by politicians are not often worth reading, but John McCain's Faith of My Fathers is an astonishing exception to the rule. The Republican senator from Arizona has a remarkable story to tell--better than just about any of his peers--and he tells it well, with crisp prose and an unexpected sense for narrative pacing. The first half of the book concerns his naval forbears: his grandfather commanded an aircraft carrier in the Second World War, while his father presided over all naval forces in the Pacific during the Vietnam War. They were the first father-son admirals in American history. Young John McCain knew he had enormous shoes to fill and rebelled against many of the expectations set for him. At the Naval Academy, he was nearly expelled, graduating fifth from the bottom of his class. He never became an admiral, but achieved fame another way: as a naval aviator in 1967, he was shot down over North Vietnam and spent several years in POW camps, where he was beaten, tortured, and nearly allowed to die. McCain describes the awful details of his imprisonment and tells how he stayed mentally strong during seemingly endless months of solitary confinement and how he communicated in code with fellow captives. Faith of My Fathers concludes with McCain's release and contains no information about his subsequent political career. It is, nonetheless, a complete and compelling memoir of individual heroism--one that will interest both political and military history buffs. --John J. Miller
About this product: Born the son and grandson of military men, Senator John McCain from Arizona was destined for a life serving his country in the armed forces. Like many great men, he occasionally struggled with authority, but once he found his true calling -- flying naval aircraft -- his ideals and commitment to his country took him far.
From the low point of five years as a prisoner of war to the high points of raising a large, happy family and being chosen as the Republican nominee in the 2008 presidential election, Senator McCain has lived an incredible life driven by a love of his country and a desire to serve it to the best of his ability.
This picture book biography, written with great love and insight by his oldest daughter, writer Meghan McCain, shows us the public John McCain and the personal John McCain in a way we've never seen before -- making this American hero come to life before young eyes.
About this product: “Courage,” Winston Churchill explained, is “the first of human qualities . . . because it guarantees all the others.” As a naval officer, P.O.W., and one of America’s most admired political leaders, John McCain has seen countless acts of bravery and self-sacrifice. Now, in this inspiring meditation on courage, he shares his most cherished stories of ordinary individuals who have risked everything to defend the people and principles they hold most dear.
“We are taught to understand, correctly, that courage is not the absence of fear but the capacity for action despite our fears,” McCain reminds us, as a way of introducing the stories of figures both famous and obscure that he finds most compelling—from the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to Sgt. Roy Benavidez, who ignored his own well-being to rescue eight of his men from an ambush in the Vietnam jungle; from 1960s civil rights leader John Lewis, who wrote, “When I care about something, I’m prepared to take the long, hard road,” to Hannah Senesh, who, in protecting her comrades in the Hungarian resistance against Hitler’s SS, chose a martyr’s death over a despot’s mercy.
These are some of the examples McCain turns to for inspiration and offers to others to help them summon the resolve to be both good and great. He explains the value of courage in both everyday actions and extraordinary feats. We learn why moral principles and physical courage are often not distinct quantities but two sides of the same coin. Most of all, readers discover how sometimes simply setting the right example can be the ultimate act of courage.
Written by one of our most respected public figures, Why Courage Matters is that rare book with a message both timely and timeless. This is a work for anyone seeking to understand how the mystery and gift of courage can empower us and change our lives.
About this product: In Character is Destiny, McCain tells the stories of celebrated historical figures and lesser-known heroes whose values exemplify the best of the human spirit. He illustrates these qualities with moving stories of triumph against the odds, righteousness in the face of iniquity, hope in adversity, and sacrifices for a cause greater than self-interest. The tributes he pays here to men and women who have lived truthfully will stir the hearts of young and old alike, and help prepare us for the hard work of choosing our destiny.
About this product: In 1999, John McCain wrote one of the most acclaimed and bestselling memoirs of the decade, Faith of My Fathers. That book ended in 1972, with McCain’s release from imprisonment in Vietnam. This is the rest of his story, about his great American journey from the U.S. Navy to his electrifying run for the presidency, interwoven with heartfelt portraits of the mavericks who have inspired him through the years—Ted Williams, Theodore Roosevelt, visionary aviation proponent Billy Mitchell, Marlon Brando in Viva Zapata!, and, most indelibly, Robert Jordan. It was Jordan, Hemingway’s protagonist in For Whom the Bell Tolls, who showed McCain the ideals of heroism and sacrifice, stoicism and redemption, and why certain causes, despite the costs, are . . .
Worth the Fighting For
After five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, naval aviator John McCain returned home a changed man. Regaining his health and flight-eligibility status, he resumed his military career, commanding carrier pilots and serving as the navy’s liaison to what is sometimes ironically called the world’s most exclusive club, the United States Senate. Accompanying Senators John Tower and Henry “Scoop” Jackson on international trips, McCain began his political education in the company of two masters, leaders whose standards he would strive to maintain upon his election to the U.S. Congress. There, he learned valuable lessons in cooperation from a good-humored congressman from the other party, Morris Udall. In 1986, McCain was elected to the U.S. Senate, inheriting the seat of another role model, Barry Goldwater. During his time in public office, McCain has seen acts of principle and acts of craven self-interest. He describes both ex-tremes in these pages, with his characteristic straight talk and humor. He writes honestly of the lowest point in his career, the Keating Five savings and loan debacle, as well as his triumphant moments—his return to Vietnam and his efforts to normalize relations between the U.S. and Vietnamese governments; his fight for campaign finance reform; and his galvanizing bid for the presidency in 2000. Writes McCain: “A rebel without a cause is just a punk. Whatever you’re called—rebel, unorthodox, nonconformist, radical—it’s all self-indulgence without a good cause to give your life meaning.” This is the story of McCain’s causes, the people who made him do it, and the meaning he found. Worth the Fighting For reminds us of what’s best in America, and in ourselves.
About this product: In Hard Call, acclaimed authors John McCain and Mark Salter describe the anatomy of great decisions in history by telling the remarkable stories of men and women who have exemplified composure, wisdom, and intellect in the face of life's toughest decisions. The authors identify six qualities typically represented in the best decisions: Awareness. Timing. Foresight. Confidence. Humility. Inspiration. These qualities are personified by the exceptional individuals in this book, each of whom made a hard call:
Branch Rickey's awareness of the opposition he would face in integrating the Brooklyn Dodgers, and his sagacity in choosing the right man, Jackie Robinson, to break baseball's color barrier.
Winston Churchill's foresight in preparing England's Navy for war.
Anwar Sadat's and Menachem Begin's timing in choosing to risk their lives and political careers by seeking peace in the aftermath of war.
Gertrude Ederle's confidence in deciding to swim the English Channel - and her fortitude in continuing the quest against the wishes of her coach, despite the fact that no woman had ever succeeded.
Reinhold Niebuhr's humility in deciding to abandon his pacifist views and endorse the use of violence against persecution in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
Abraham Lincoln's historic act of inspiration: His decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, the role of faith in his life, and his willingness to suffer for a cause greater than himself.
Woven into these stories are John McCain's own views on the process and art of decision-making and examples of the hard calls we face in our lives. "When I assess a decision," McCain writes, "I want to know all I can about the character of the decision maker before I examine the properties of the decision, its outcome or how it was arrived at."
Hard Call is a testament to the people whose choices serve as a beacon for us all.
About this product: As the cover aptly shows here is McCain embracing Bush and everything he stands for. McCain supporters have clearly shown that the truth is the last thing they want to hear. Important topics are ignored by these people while they spin a most dismal ticket trying hard to hide the holes in it. The McCain/Palin ticket will be a litmus test for the sanity of the American voter. Read this book if you want a clear picture of McCain. He has gotten plenty of mileage out of his service record but what about the fact that he is not suited to lead a troubled nation? We need more than spin.
About this product: John McCain - A Man of Straight Talk is a biography of John McCain, who is a United States Senator from the State of Arizona and 2008 Republican Presidential candidate. John McCain comes from a military family, with both his father and grandfather having served as Admirals in the United States Nazy. John McCain gradudated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958. Most notably in his military career, McCain was shot down during a bombing mission of North Vietnam and was held as a prisoner of war for five and a half years enduring poor conditions and periods of torture. He was elected in 1982 to the United States House of Representatives, and succesfully ran for the upper body of Congress when he was elected to the Senate in 1986. Although John McCain was an unsuccessful Presidential candidate in 2000, he would have better luck in 2008 in garnering the Republican parties endorsement as their candidate. John McCain is known for his straight talk, and telling the truth instead of just telling voters what they want to hear like most politicians. John McCain - A Man of Straight Talk is a biography that will tell you the straight talk about Presidential candidate John McCain and is highly recommended for those who are interested in learning more about his life and politics.
About this product: If, as you're reading John McCain: An American Odyssey, you feel a sense of déjà vu, don't be alarmed--you may very well have read this book before. Robert Timberg has extracted from his 1995 book The Nightingale's Song, which dealt with several Naval Academy graduates who went on to serve in Vietnam, those passages that involved Senator John McCain, a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2000 presidential elections. To this Timberg has added some new, updated material.
Roughly half of this story is covered in McCain's own memoir, Faith of My Fathers, including McCain's early military career and an internment in a North Vietnamese POW camp that lasted nearly six years. But it's presented here from an objective, journalistic perspective (and Timberg's own stint at Annapolis informs the sections on the Naval Academy immeasurably). But there's also strong material on McCain's political career, from his first campaigns in Arizona through the dark days of his involvement in the "Keating Five" scandal of the early '90s up to his role in 1999 as a critic of American involvement in the NATO attack on Serbia (which, McCain said, wasn't strong enough).
BOOK
