Real Heroes: Inspiring True Stories of Courage, Character, and Conviction

by Lawrence W. Reed

“We need these stories. We need to read them to our children and our grandchildren.”
—Dennis Prager

“We learn by stories, and this powerful, well-written book gives us forty superb ones. They couldn’t be more timely in an age that is experiencing too much bluster, blather, exhibitionism, and ignorance.” 
—Steve Forbes

What makes someone a hero?

Is it fame, power, money, creative talent, athletic ability, good looks?

Despite what our culture typically celebrates, none of those things makes a hero.

No, heroism springs from character, the critical element that defines a person. The good news is that character is something every one of us can mold; it is simply the sum of the choices we make as we face new challenges and opportunities.

And here’s even better news: this lively, accessible book gives you real, flesh-and-blood models of character, courage, and conviction—men and women you won’t just admire but also can emulate.

Author Lawrence W. Reed ranges far and wide in  Real Heroes —from major historical figures to remarkable people you’ve never heard of; from the distant past to the present; from the United States, to Europe, to Asia; from statesmen to scientists, athletes to inventors, entrepreneurs to theologians, writers to teachers. Reed’s heroes include:


The nineteenth-century American educator who was vilified and threatened for daring to teach black girls
The unsung British activist who fought for decades to end slavery
The courageous Cambodian who alerted the world to Pol Pot’s killing fields
The Polish soldier who volunteered to go to the notorious concentration camp Auschwitz to expose Nazi brutality and defend the liberty of his people
Concise and compelling,  Real Heroes  highlights memorable quotations from each hero and features a bulleted summary of lessons at the end of each profile. 

We desperately need more heroes today. America is a country with a proud history of heroes, but now it seems we’ve forgotten more of them than we’re producing.

It’s time to change that. And  Real Heroes  is here to help.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History

296 pages, Paperback

Published September 26, 2016

About the author

Lawrence W. Reed is the president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and the author or editor of several books, including Excuse Me, Professor: Challenging the Myths of Progressivism. Before joining FEE, he served as president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan, and chaired Northwood University’s department of economics. Reed has written some 1,500 articles for newspapers and magazines worldwide. He is a frequent guest on radio and television.

Reviews

[Lawrence Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am the author and simply want to say that I focused in this book on 40 individuals from Cicero in ancient Rome to my late friend Sir Nicholas Winton, who saved 669 Jewish children from the Nazis in 1939. Each of the 40 chapters is about a different person and among the others are Joe Louis, Harriet Tubman, Prudence Crandall, Adam Smith, Haing Ngor, Witold Pilecki, Marie Curie, etc.

[Kruno Stjepanović · Rating 2 out of 5]

"We're never so smug in our beliefs that..." writes the author. It is a shame Lawrence chose to focus only on libertarian heroes, or ordinary people who's lives he managed to portray in a defense of libertarianism.

While I largely agree with author's political positions, I feel like this book shouldn't have been about libertarian heroes. By portraying 40 persons he ended up saying the same things over and over again. A bore to read.

[Lee Button · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real could be a descriptive term to vouch for the existence of these men and women. Very few people will even know they existed. That makes their heroism all the more valiant. Not one of these brave souls acted for self-acclaim. Each stood for liberty and individual freedom. Today they would be pariahs, rebels. But they understood the greatness of America is not from government. America is great because it was established on the natural right of individuals to act on their own.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author Lawrence W. Reed, President of the Foundation for Economic Education, provides 40 profiles of people, well known and not-so-well-known figures, who, in his judgment, were heroes. His wide range of profiles is told in 4-6 pages). The list begins with Cicero and ends with Larry Cooper, a man incardinated and, when he got out of prison, took a new route in his life.

In between chapters, the reader gets profiles about teachers, business leaders, inventors, politicians, athletes, industrialists, with room for musicians and everyday people who have become known for what they did (e.g. Anne Franke). About a third of the profiles are females.

Several of the profiles provide new and insightful information about the person.

What gets in the way too often however is the political and economic doctrines promoted in the chapters. For example, the 39th profile, “Homeschooling: It’s for the Children” (pp. 260-267). The subtitle of heading for the Cicero chapter has is "Enemy of the State, Friend of Liberty. One chapter focuses on the dangers of income taxes (p. 123). There are multiple chapter headings and material in the profiles that suggest a political stance. The writing needs some editing.

The book provides coverage of the figures in a very much unbalanced theme. At the same time, the book is anchored in a theme that if government got out of the way, the problems in our society would be solved. The author can certainly say that and he can write about it. I believe,however, that he has a duty to tell us directly what his politics are.

[Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit of a disappointing read. This is a lower review not because of the lives portrayed but because of their presentation. These remarkable individuals are profiled with a generic depiction of virtue and celebrated for one or other famous deed. Written without much nuance, there appears to be only good guys, winners, and heroes or bad guys, losers, and the foolish where the remarkable can do no wrong (especially in terms of limiting government power) and the disgraced “others” are often presented as categorically evil. The reader is then promptly confronted with a lesson to be learned and applied from each “hero,” all the while wary whether these lessons on greatness and freedom actually constitute megalopsuchos (greatness of soul) or true ordered liberty.

Ultimately, what Reed missed in this work is what Plutarch knew was fundamental: “the most glorious exploits do not always furnish us with the clearest discoveries of virtue or vice in men; sometimes a matter of less moment, an expression or a jest, informs us better of their characters and inclinations, than the most famous sieges, the greatest armaments, or the bloodiest battles whatsoever” (Plutarch’s Lives, Vol 2, 139).

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful and inspiring book of male and female heroes from all time periods and around the globe. Each chapter is short, with highlights of important concepts. These are all true stories with details you may not know.Courage, character and conviction are part of what makes heroes and their stories.

[Matthew Werner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great profiles on men and women of true character. Some of these people I did not not and am glad I do know of them now. Incredible stories and lessons for anyone who believes we can make a difference

[Omar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forty biographical synopses of mostly unknown or forgotten individuals that have stood up for what they knew was right. Illustrating and entertaining as well.

[Seth Callahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring stories of many people you've probably never heard about, but probably should have!

[Brendan Steinhauser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book about real life heroes, many of whom are not covered elsewhere. Larry Reed does a great job telling their stories, and making the case for these often unsung heroes.

[Jason Perz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just picked this book up again. It’s like getting a little jolt of motivation towards entrepreneurship or liberty every time I pick it up. Lawrence is one of the most brilliant men I’ve got to see lecture. His books, lectures and personality is something to admire. This book along with Myths of the Great Depression are must reads!

[Don Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not every hero is remembered or recognized, but Reed, with story-like narration, provides us with forty examples of great men and women who either achieved monumental success against all odds or sacrificed themselves for others and the ideas they believed in. From ancient Rome to modern day Georgia (the state in America, not the country), heroes arose, many from unlikely beginnings, in an attempt to leave the world better than when they arrived. My favorite hero in the book is Siegfried Sassoon, a soldier who joined WWI with patriot fervor and a mission to defend America. However, as the war drew on, Sassoon realized it became a war of conquest. He also famously wrote in a poem that war is "the hell where youth and laughter go." While he detested and protested war, he nonetheless fervently went into the battlefield, unable to bear the thought of his friends sacrificing life and limb without him. Real Heroes contains this and many more heroes that will no doubt inspire you--and perhaps bring a tear or two to your eyes, as it did for me.

[Joe N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book 6 stars I would because it is that good! Liberty requires men and women of character and courage. Lawrence Reed has provided 40 real examples of heroes of past and present that are inspiring to say the least. People who despite what sometimes seems unimaginable obstacles push forward and do what is right no matter the cost.
I highly recommend.

[Chris Neath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic stories, truly awesome characters!