What happens to the country, to the world, depends on what we do with what others have left us. 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. 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. They were men of various political and regional allegiances-their one overriding loyalty was to the United States.Ĭourage 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.Īs Robert F.

The book profiles senators who defied the opinions of their party and constituents to do what they felt was right and suffered severe criticism and losses in popularity as a result. Kennedy, with an introduction by Caroline Kennedy and a foreword by Robert 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 spiritĭuring 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. Profiles in Courage is a 1956 volume of short biographies describing acts of bravery and integrity by eight United States senators. The Pulitzer Prize winning classic by President John F. Kennedy and introduction by Caroline Kennedy THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING CLASSIC OF POLITICAL INTEGRITY

Profiles in courage book