Courage: Eight Portraits
OCLC 51623312 | |
Courage: Eight Portraits is a non-fiction book by former British prime minister Gordon Brown. Published in 2007, it comprises short biographical accounts of the lives of eight notable individuals, drawn together as an exploration of the concept of courage.
The eight subjects of the book are Aung San Suu Kyi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Edith Cavell, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Cicely Saunders, and Raoul Wallenberg.
Background
The book was written during Brown's tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer and was first published on 4 June 2007, three weeks before he became Prime Minister. In his acknowledgements, Brown writes that he began to write the book as a means of raising funds for the Jennifer Brown Research Fund, set up in memory of Brown's daughter Jennifer Jane, who was born prematurely in December 2001 and died in January 2002. The book is dedicated "in memory of Jennifer".[1]
Brown was a surprise guest at the 2008 Edinburgh Book Festival where he spoke about Courage and told audiences that he had chosen to write the book to encourage people to emulate the eight figures whose stories it included.[2]
Reception
Courage: Eight Portraits received mixed reviews on publication.
Choice of subjects
Simon Jenkins, in The Times, complained that there were "no soldiers and no Englishmen", commenting that the choices of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Cicely Saunders were "surprising". The palliative care and anti-euthanasia charity Care Not Killing welcomed the inclusion of Saunders as one of Brown's eight subjects, for her role in improving palliative care and public attitudes towards it.[9]
Sales
According to The Independent, the book had sold almost 4,200 copies by March 2010.[10]
References
- ISBN 978-0-7475-9331-7.
- ^ ""Britain not broken", says Brown". BBC News Online. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
- ^ Catherine Bennett (19 April 2007). "Gordon Brown's new book teaches us, if nothing else, that we are to have another pious Christian for PM". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
- ^ Kamran Nazeer (July 2007). "Courage and sorrow". Prospect. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
- ^ Philip Gould (26 May 2007). "Brown's bravehearts". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
- ^ Jonathan Freedland (25 October 2007). "Who is Gordon Brown?". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
- ^ Geoffrey Wheatcroft (7 June 2007). "Short Cuts". The London Review of Books. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
- ^ Simon Jenkins (27 May 2007). "Courage Under Fire". The Times. London. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
- ^ "Book of Courage" (Press release). Care Not Killing. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
- ^ Grice, Andrew (5 March 2010). "The £4.6m question: Is Tony Blair's 'Journey' worth the advance?". The Independent. Retrieved 12 August 2010.