The Mystery of Courage

by William Ian Miller

Few of us spend much time thinking about courage, but we know it when we see it--or do we? Is it best displayed by marching into danger, making the charge, or by resisting, enduring without complaint? Is it physical or moral, or both? Is it fearless, or does it involve subduing fear? Abner Small, a Civil War soldier, was puzzled by what he called the "mystery of bravery"; to him, courage and cowardice seemed strangely divorced from character and will. It is this mystery, just as puzzling in our day, that William Ian Miller unravels in this engrossing meditation.

Miller culls sources as varied as soldiers' memoirs, heroic and romantic literature, and philosophical discussions to get to the heart of courage--and to expose its role in generating the central anxieties of masculinity and manhood. He probes the link between courage and fear, and explores the connection between bravery and seemingly related rashness, stubbornness, madness, cruelty, fury; pride and fear of disgrace; and the authority and experience that minimize fear. By turns witty and moving, inquisitive and critical, his inquiry takes us from ancient Greece to medieval Europe, to the American Civil War, to the Great War and Vietnam, with sidetrips to the schoolyard, the bedroom, and the restaurant. Whether consulting Aristotle or private soldiers, Miller elicits consistently compelling insights into a condition as endlessly interesting as it is elusive.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, War, Military History, Psychology, World War II, History

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miller's abstract analyses of courage in all its forms can get a bit tedious after 200+ pages, but he's quite good when commenting on literary works on courage, such as Tim O'Brien's. I liked this book, even excerpted a couple of chapters to teach in my composition courses (students thought he belabored points but liked the larger themes), but in the end, I never thought his insights matched the wisdom of Murray Kempton, the famous columnist, writing about his experience in WWII Pacific.

“The one thing that guts is not is a quality that can be depended on. That is why it is useless continually to test it, for at some point it will always fail us. Dignity, not courage, is the best anyone can hope for.”

“Courage is the product of rehearsal, as cowardice is of recollection; neither comes on call upon occasions of surprise.”

The most powerful reflection on courage I've ever read is Tim O'Brien's story "On the Rainy River," about a Vietnam era draftee contemplating fleeing to Canada. A work that Miller, oddly, does not reference.

[Sergei Shnitman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main positive outcome from reading this book is: it prompted me to reading Classics like Thucydides, Plato and Xenophon's.

Actually a poorly organized verbal diarrhea. The book contains 15 or something chapters that contain author's highly intersected ideas which make you absolutely lost after the third chapter. The logic seems infallible but Chapter composition and same examples make them absolutely indistinguishable from each other and thus making you turn the pages back to the chapter's name to remind what the author is talking about. When you get to the finishing chapter you realize that the chapters you read have not produced any firm conclusions.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about courage. The weighs heavily on physical courage, primarily from the experiences of soldiers throughout time. From their experiences, Mr. Miller examines the subject from a multitude of angles filling every philosopher's dream.

I would have liked more on moral courage, but that may be better suited for a book on its own.
Another theme for further exploration is suicide bombers. Mr. Miller writes about the Kaiten, but mostly in terms of those who were deprived the honor of giving their life for their country.
The book was written before the 9/11 attacks and would like Mr. Miller's thoughts on the attackers.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro ensayo, es toda una investigación y reflexión sobre las manifestaciones del coraje, el miedo, la valentía, la cobardía, la vergüenza y el honor a través de la historia. Desde los antiguos griegos de las Termopilas, Sócrates, hasta las memorias de soldados de guerra de la 1era y 2da guerra mundial, la guerra de Vietnam, la guerra civil norteamericana.
El coraje físico y el coraje moral, como se distinguen en diferentes culturas através de su literatura desde la Iliada a las sagas nordicas e islandesas(vikingos), la Biblia, Shakespeare, Stendhal, Beowulf, Sun Tzu o como lo ven diferentes filósofos como Aristóteles, Platón, Adam Smith, Hume, Nietzsche, Montaigne, Santo Tomas de Aquino. Y sus casos en la vida militar y también en la vida civil, por ejemplo Rosa Parks (activista de los Derechos civiles).
También comparaciones entre griegos antiguos, japoneses de la segunda guerra mundial y cherokees acerca de su rituales y trato a los que regresaron vivos de la batalla. El valor de la disciplina frente al coraje individual de franceses frente a egipcios o de turcos frente a árabes.
Un libro de lectura muy enriquecedora e interesante, muy recomendable.

[Janice Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while writing my thesis on the relationship between leadership and courage. The opening line of my thesis was "What do courage and hard-core pornography have in common? They're both difficult to define, but of each, we 'know it when we see it.'" William Ian Miller's impeccably researched and engrossing book covers a vast terrain colored by cowardice, courageous acts, and everything in between in an attempt to define courage itself (which is not an easy thing to do). Though not meant at all as a motivational book, nevertheless Miller's stories of ordinary people taking extraordinary action is inspirational.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating meditation by a widely read law professor who quotes from Plato, the letters of Civil War soldiers, Tim O'Brien. Next, I intend to read his "Anatomy of Disgust"