Synopses & Reviews
The bestselling author of
Truman and
John Adams, David McCullough has written profiles of exceptional men and women past and present who have not only shaped the course of history or changed how we see the world but whose stories express much that is timeless about the human condition.
Here are Alexander von Humboldt, whose epic explorations of South America surpassed the Lewis and Clark expedition; Harriet Beecher Stowe, "the little woman who made the big war"; Frederic Remington; the extraordinary Louis Agassiz of Harvard; Charles and Anne Lindbergh, and their fellow long-distance pilots Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Beryl Markham; Harry Caudill, the Kentucky lawyer who awakened the nation to the tragedy of Appalachia; and David Plowden, a present-day photographer of vanishing America.
Different as they are from each other, McCullough's subjects have in common a rare vitality and sense of purpose. These are brave companions: to each other, to David McCullough, and to the reader, for with rare storytelling ability McCullough brings us into the times they knew and their very uncommon lives.
Review
"If you enjoy good stories well told about interesting people and places, you should read this book. You will learn something about history and also about good historical writing." Cleveland Plain Dealer
Review
"McCullough's portrayals...are models of compression, perspective, and the discriminating use of detail, and of what the author calls 'the possibilities for self-expression in writing narrative history." The New York Times Book Review
Review
"It will come as no surprise to the reader to learn that Mr. McCullough's first ambition was to be a portrait painter. He has supplied us with admirable portraits....All his subjects come alive." Dallas Morning News
Synopsis
The bestselling author of
Truman and
John Adams, David McCullough has written profiles of exceptional men and women past and present who have not only shaped the course of history or changed how we see the world but whose stories express much that is timeless about the human condition.
Here are Alexander von Humboldt, whose epic explorations of South America surpassed the Lewis and Clark expedition; Harriet Beecher Stowe, the little woman who made the big war; Frederic Remington; the extraordinary Louis Agassiz of Harvard; Charles and Anne Lindbergh, and their fellow long-distance pilots Antoine de Saint-Exupery and Beryl Markham; Harry Caudill, the Kentucky lawyer who awakened the nation to the tragedy of Appalachia; and David Plowden, a present-day photographer of vanishing America.
Different as they are from each other, McCullough's subjects have in common a rare vitality and sense of purpose. These are brave companions: to each other, to David McCullough, and to the reader, for with rare storytelling ability McCullough brings us into the times they knew and their very uncommon lives.
Synopsis
From Alexander von Humboldt to Charles and Anne Lindbergh, these are stories of people of great vision and daring whose achievements continue to inspire us today, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough.
The bestselling author of Truman and John Adams, David McCullough has written profiles of exceptional men and women past and present who have not only shaped the course of history or changed how we see the world but whose stories express much that is timeless about the human condition.
Here are Alexander von Humboldt, whose epic explorations of South America surpassed the Lewis and Clark expedition; Harriet Beecher Stowe, "the little woman who made the big war"; Frederic Remington; the extraordinary Louis Agassiz of Harvard; Charles and Anne Lindbergh, and their fellow long-distance pilots Antoine de Saint-Exupery and Beryl Markham; Harry Caudill, the Kentucky lawyer who awakened the nation to the tragedy of Appalachia; and David Plowden, a present-day photographer of vanishing America.
Different as they are from each other, McCullough's subjects have in common a rare vitality and sense of purpose. These are brave companions: to each other, to David McCullough, and to the reader, for with rare storytelling ability McCullough brings us into the times they knew and their very uncommon lives.
About the Author
David McCullough has been called a "master of the art of narrative history." His books have been praised for their exceptional narrative sweep, their scholarship and insight into American life, and for their literary distinction.
In the words of the citation accompanying his honorary degree from Yale, "As an historian, he paints with words, giving us pictures of the American people that live, breath, and above all, confront the fundamental issues of courage, achievement, and moral character."
Author of 1776, John Adams, Truman, The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, The Path between the Seas, Mornings on Horseback, and Brave Companions, he has received the Pulitzer Prize twice (in 1993, for Truman, and, in 2001, for John Adams), the Francis Parkman Prize, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and has twice won the National Book Award.
For his work overall he has been honored by the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the National Humanities Medal, the St. Louis Literary Award, the Carl Sandburg Award, and the New York Public Library's Literary Lion Award. None of his books has ever been out of print.
In a crowded, productive career, Mr. McCullough has been an editor, essayist, teacher, lecturer, and familiar presence on public television as host of Smithsonian World, The American Experience, and narrator of numerous documentaries including The Civil War and Napoleon. He is a past president of the Society of American Historians. He has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has received 31 honorary degrees.
A gifted speaker, Mr. McCullough has lectured in all parts of the country and abroad, as well as at the White House, as part of the White House presidential lecture series. He is also one of the few private citizens to be asked to speak before a joint session of Congress.
Born in Pittsburgh in 1933, Mr. McCullough was educated there and at Yale, where he was graduated with honors in English literature. An avid reader, traveler, and landscape painter, he lives in West Tisbury, Massachusetts, with his wife Rosalee Barnes McCullough. They have five children and 15 grandchildren.
Table of Contents
ContentsIntroduction
I Phenomena
CHAPTER ONE Journey to the Top of the World
CHAPTER TWO The American Adventure of Louis Agassiz
CHAPTER THREE The Unexpected Mrs. Stowe
II The Real West
CHAPTER FOUR Glory Days in Medora
CHAPTER FIVE Remington
III Pioneers
CHAPTER SIX Steam Road to El Dorado
CHAPTER SEVEN The Builders
CHAPTER EIGHT The Treasure from the Carpentry Shop
CHAPTER NINE Long-Distance Vision
IV Figures in a Landscape
CHAPTER TEN Cross the Blue Mountain
CHAPTER ELEVEN The Lonely War of a Good Angry Man
CHAPTER TWELVE Miriam Rothschild
CHAPTER THIRTEEN South of Kankakee: A Day with David Plowden
V On We Go
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Washington on the Potomac
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Extraordinary Times
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Recommended Itinerary
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Simon Willard's Clock
Index
Reading Group Guide
Brave Companions Reader's Group Guide
1. Aime Bonpland Humbolt, naturalist, geographer, geologist, botanist, linguist, and artist believed in a harmony of nature that included man. Humbolt lived until ninety and saw most of his work become "old hat." What do you think was Humbolt's largest contribution to science? Why did McCullough include him in this collection?
2. With little first-hand knowledge and exposure to the institution of slavery, Harriet Beecher Stowe was able to write Uncle Tom's Cabin, a kind of fictional muckracking that inarguably shed more light on the ills of slavery than any widely read publication or discourse of the time. Stowe writes, "The power of fictitious writing, for good and evil, is a thing which ought most seriously to be reflected on. No one can fail to see that in our day it is becoming a very great agency." What agency is Stowe speaking of? Do you agree with this statement? Can you recall a contemporary novel or publication that created a stir to ultimately impact social or political change?
3. According to McCullough, Frederick Remington's successful career seems to have happened by chance and good fate. In this vignette, you never truly get a sense of how he was discovered, but it is clear that Remington's honesty and personal and artistic integrity took a back seat to the advancement of his career. Discuss the instances where Remington was dishonest in his art. How would you explain the driving force behind his work?
4. Emily Roebling, wife of John A. Roebling, was said to be a women of "unusual executive ability," when Roebling took ill, she was in many ways second-in-command as gatekeeper and communicator between Roebling and the board of trustees. If Emily Roebling had a position in her own right, imagine what position she would hold and what would her job entail? What do you think is the role of a "first lady"? Explain.
5. The drawings of the Brooklyn Bride were on the verge of disposal until Francis Valentine discovered the collection totaling over ten thousand drawings. What is the historical context that made those drawings dispensable? What contributed to a lack of respect for the technological feat that was the Brooklyn Bridge? The Municipal Archives is currently the rightful owner of the drawings. In your opinion, who should be the rightful owner of the drawings? What museum or locale would better serve the public? Give your rationale.
6. In "Long Distance Vision" McCullough highlights the writings of pioneer aviators who include, Amelia Earhart, Beryl Markham, and Anne Lindbergh. What was is about flight that inspired the literary works of these pioneers to great heights? McCullough writes, "The airplane offered a spiritual pilgrimage in ways other machines never had. These aviators wrote of being lifted out of themselves by the very act of flight, of becoming part of something infinitely larger than themselves." Explain what he means by this. What can be said of space explorations contribution to art? Why do you think we've had no literary stars among astronauts?
7. The vignette on Conrad Richter was more a personal elegy for McCullough than a glorification of Richter's work. What did McCullough intend for the reader to take from this story? Explain Richter's attachment to the mainland of North America and why it was important to him as a writer.
8. Miriam Rothschild was insatiable passionate about nature and a well decorated and honored scientist. Rothschild says, "Somehow people have lost the sense of being in a landscape." Explain what she means by this statement. Does her sentiment apply today? What in your daily routine puts you in mindful contact with nature? How does that connection affect your spiritual wellbeing?
9. David Plowden's creative process was often a never-ending search in trying to capture the most interesting moment. How would you define his creative process and how does that process serve as a framework in understanding David McCullough's work. Why do you think he chose to include Plowden in Brave Companions?
10. What do you make of McCullough's ode to The Capitol in "Washington on the Potomac"? In it, he begs the question, "Why do so many politicians fell obliged to get away from the city at every chance? The claim a pressing need to get back to the real America. To win votes, many of them like also to deride the city and mock its institutions." What contributes to a lack of pride in The Capitol? What would a politician gain from a disassociation with Washington, D.C.? Do you agree with McCullough? Why or why not?
11. In "Extraordinary Times" what events pinpoint 1936 as the turning point for this essay? McCullough argues that since 1936, the United States has been in a steady social and moral decline. Do you agree? Craft your own historical narrative of events following 1936.
12. In "Recommended Itinerary" a convocation speech at Middlebury College in Vermont, McCullough says, "We have not had a president of the United States with a sense of history since John Kennedy". Do you think this is true of the current administration? Why? Why is history important to you? Is history loosing value in our society? Explain.