Choosing Courage - a bookwap

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"Choosing Courage"
Inspiring Stories of What It Means to Be a Hero

Authored by Peter Collier

Grades 4-8

About the book...

This fabulous book is inspiring and very educational.  It is a story of courage in our modern day world.  The superheroes of the book are Medal of Honour recipients from WW2, Korean War, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Collier also highlights civilian counterparts who step up and display outstanding bravery in the face of extreme danger.

Today the very word "hero" has been overused and overrated.  Kid's link the word to fictious cartoon characters, anyone who aces an exam, or wins a race in the Olympics.  While all those things are truly wonderful the genuine men and women who deserve that word bestowed upon them are those who step into harms way selflessly rising up and moving forward to protect others from the impending dangers at large. 

Peter Collier's book gives us insight into these individuals using stories of combat veterans and normal everyday people who spring into action and literally put their own life on the line for the greater good of those around them.  

*"Colonel Jack Jacobs, USA (ret) is one.  Jacobs was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in 1968 Vietnam. He is a thoughtful man who explains how in the midst of battle, wounded in an ambush that killed many of his troops with a piece of shrapnel in his eye, remembered the questions posed by Hebrew scholar Hillel of two thousand years ago 'If not you, who? If not now, when?' Jacobs knew that if someone didn't take charge, the slaughter would continue, and if he was the only person capable of action, then he needed to get on with it"

*Jack Lucas was a thirteen year-old boy who keeps his age a secret so he could enlist in World War 11; at the Battle of Iwo Jima he deliberately covered a grenade with his body and absorbed the explosion to save his buddies.

*Jencie Fagan, a middle-school teacher in Reno, Nevada risked her life to disarm a trouble eighth grader before he could turn his gun on more of his classmates."

"Choosing Courage" provides context and background for each profile. Boys will especially be fascinated by the essays, photographs and sidebars on battles and weaponry.  The book is both entertaining and historical.  I think it is would be a wonderful resource for classrooms, libraries or at home.  It truly is an ennobling read and I highly recommend it. 

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NOTE:  Like Collier's New York Times bestselling adult book, "Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty", "Choosing Courage" is published in collaboration with the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation.  The Foundation not only celebrates the individuals who have received the nation's highest military honour but helps Medal recipients spread the message that citizens of all ages and backgrounds can make brave choices in their everyday lives.

About the author...

Peter Collier has written extensively about bravery in battle in the New York Times bestselling "Medal of Valor: Beyond the Call of Duty", first published by Artisan in 2003, which has more than 330,000 copies in print.  He lives in Nevada City, California.

Read on and read always!

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