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Reviewed by Carol Thompson for Readers' Favorite
Kirk Ward Robinson’s Founding Courage: Courage and Character in the United States of America reflects on acts of bravery that have shaped both individuals and the nation across generations. First published in 2007 and now reissued in a twentieth anniversary edition, the book combines narrative history with moral inquiry, asking what courage is, how it has been defined, and why it remains vital to the American identity. The work is structured in two parts. The first defines courage through illustrative accounts ranging from a father fighting off a shark to Aron Ralston’s self-amputation in the Utah desert, to figures such as the “Tank Man” of Tiananmen Square and Italian hostage Fabrizio Quattrocchi. These global vignettes emphasize spontaneous and deliberate courage. The second part turns to Americans who embodied courage in historical contexts, including George Washington, Davy Crockett, Robert Gould Shaw, Crazy Horse, Matthew Henson, Rachel Carson, and Karen Silkwood.
The narratives are presented with meticulous attention to historical context and character detail, avoiding exaggeration while highlighting moments of extraordinary decision. Through philosophy, biology, and cultural history, Kirk Ward Robinson depicts courage as both instinctive and a choice. Founding Courage documents bold acts, but it also argues that a nation's vitality depends on its people's willingness to act bravely in the face of danger, injustice, or uncertainty. Robinson doesn’t weigh the book down with citations and footnotes throughout; instead, he lists sources at the end. It’s a book that should be in every American history classroom across the United States. Readers interested in well-known icons and lesser-known figures will appreciate that Robinson emphasizes courage not just on battlefields or in public office, but also among scientists, environmentalists, and whistleblowers.
