Heroes : from Alexander the Great to Mae West

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Title:

Author:

Johnson, Paul, 1928-

ISBN:

9780297851899

Personal Author:

Johnson, Paul, 1928-

Publication Information:

London : Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2008.

Physical Description:

xv, 287 p. ; 25 cm.

Contents:

Introduction: What Is a Hero? -- 1. God's Heroes: Deborah, Judith, Samson and David -- 2. Earthshakers: Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar -- 3. Feminist Fire and Slaughter: Boudica -- 4. Exemplary Heroes: Henry V and Joan of Arc -- 5. Heroism in the Age of the Axe: St Thomas More, Lady Jane Grey, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Ralegh -- 6. In the Roar of the Cannon's Mouth: Washington, Nelson and Wellington -- 7. Tortured Heroism in a Man's World: Jane Welsh Carlyle and Emily Dickinson -- 8. Two Kinds of Nobility: Lincoln and Lee -- 9. Cerebral Heroism: Ludwig Wittgenstein -- 10. The Heroism of the Hostess: Lady Pamela Berry et al. -- 11. A Generous Hero and a Heroic Monster: Churchill and de Gaulle -- 12. Heroism Behind the Greasepaint: Mae West and Marilyn Monroe -- 13. The Heroic Trinity Who Tamed the Bear: Reagan, Thatcher and John Paul II -- Epilogue: Any Future for Heroism?

Abstract:

"In this collection of portraits, Paul Johnson has cast his net wide and found heroic individuals from all ages of history."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject Term:

Heroes -- Biography.

Heroes -- History.

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168025440153	920.02 J68H 2008	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Twenty years ago Paul Johnson published INTELLECTUALS, which questioned whether intellectuals were morally fit to give advice to humanity. It was translated into 14 languages, but it was also criticized for over-emphasising the bad behaviour of clever and gifted people. In CREATORS (2006) Paul Johnson met the charge with a volume which celebrated the achievements of outstanding and prolific creative spirits. In HEROES he ranges even wider across human experience, achievement and character. The biblical heroes Deborah and Judith appear along with King David and Samson. Mary Queen of Scots is contrasted with Queen Elizabeth I. There are inspiring national leaders, military geniuses and warrior-queens. On a lighter note, Lady Pamela Berry represents the heroism of the hostess and Jane Carlyle the heroic wife. He ends with three figures who dismantled the Soviet empire: Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II.