Brave Decisions: Moral Courage from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm

by Harry J. Maihafer

Book Overview

His regiment trapped in a Panamanian cholera epidemic, quartermaster Captain Ulysses S. Grant must decide whether to risk his career and his family's already shaky financial future by ignoring strict regulations and hiring mules himself, or waiting for an Army-approved company agent. Warned of a hostile reception on the Japanese mainland immediately after the surrender, General Douglas MacArthur must either bring bodyguards or make a show of confidence...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0028811089
• ISBN13: 9780028811086
• Release Date: May 1995
• Publisher: Potomac Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Read on Making Tough Decisions

Maihafer's book is an enjoyable read for the person who is either interested in military history or a leader who has to make tough decisions.Ranging from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm, Maihafer describes the story of 15 leaders and the tough decisions they faced. Examples include: Daniel Morgan, Ulysses Grant, Robert Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Billy Mitchell, Douglas MacArthur, Maxwell Taylor, and Norman Schwarzkopf.The author describes the unique circumstances facing each leader and the choices he had to make.All in all, an excellent read for both the military history buff and leader who needs encouragement in making tough decisions.

Brave Decisions Goes Beyond the Battlefield

This is a great compendium of moral and ethical choices made at various stages during fifteen different officers' careers. Colonel Maihafer outlines the uncommon courage displayed by some of the most famous and also some unheralded leaders in our military history. From Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant to Patrick O'Rourke and Alexander Haig the author walks us through very tough decisions that shaped the lives and careers of these great men. He couches the choices they made through the context of their personal thoughts and circumstances. Instead of exposing the reasons why the commanders decided to commit to battle on a particular day or to wage a certain campaign, Maihafer explores questions like why did Lee decide to fight for Virginia and the Confederacy, and not the U.S. constitution he was sworn to defend before the outbreak of war. Why did Maxwell Taylor, as Superintendent of West Point, over-ride the academic board and institute the academy's first formal class on leadership, and why did he ultimately resign as the Army Chief of Staff? Brave Decisions explores these questions and more throughout its pages.Patton once stated that an officer's career is made up of about three minutes worth of time when he or she actually makes decisions that have great impact. This book helps illuminate a few precious seconds of the careers of fifteen courageous officers. Any leader, whether assuming command or not, will benefit from referring to the chapters of Maihafer's book. Cadets to general officers make various choices throughout their military careers. Brave Decisions illustrates a few of those choices at each level of command. From cadets deciding to resign from the academy to fight for the Confederacy to senior policy makers in Washington DC deciding to relieve a general officer, the choices outlined in the book convey the immensity of the decisions. All leaders, junior and senior, will face choices that have grave impact for themselves, their soldiers, and their country. Vicariously experiencing how other successful officers have considered similar situations allows us to shape our own moral concepts to better handle similar trials we may face in the two or three minutes that make up a career. I highly recommend reading, studying, and keeping this book as a reference for the future. All leaders, whether junior or senior, can glean valuable knowledge and forethought from scrutinizing the pages of Brave Decisions.

Required Reading

By Sen. John F. Kennedy, Profiles in Courage, is, on the surface, merely a fascinating look at some of the courageous senators who helped steer our country to safety in times of turmoil. Taking a more introspective look, one can see the way that the future president sought to live his own life- always striving to do what was best for the nation, regardless of political consequences. "Courage" was a trait that John Kennedy admired the most in men. It is intiguing to read Kennedy describe the character displayed by U.S. Senators during perilous times in the history of our country. This book should be required reading in every high school in America.

Heroism of another sort.

Physical courage is justly acclaimed and highly honored throughout American history. An Audie Murphy will shine throughout the ages as a man utterly fearless in the heat of battle. There is another order of courage less spectacular, and perhaps more difficult - that which is required to make tough decisions, which if wrong mean unnecessary casualties and eternal personal ignominy. These men in this book, from Daniel Morgan at Cowpens to Norman Schwarzkopf in the Gulf War, exemplify that moral courage.