Courage: True Stories of American Sports Heroes

Courage has many faces and countless meanings. For some it may be pursuing your goals against all odds. Others may define it as standing up for your beliefs. It may even be as simple as waking up each morning to face the challenges of a new day. Author, Mike Celizic, defines courage through the stories of thirteen extraordinary men and women. People he believes have earned the right to be called "heroes". Some like George Foreman, Joe Montana, Billie Jean King and Scott Hamilton are virtually household names. Others like Jim Abbot, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Gary Carter and Bernard King are well recognized within their respective fields. Two of them (Tess Hyman and Bart Giamatti) while intimately involved with sports exemplified "courage" through other than athletic prowess. Don't expect the ordinary view of sports and the people who play them from Celizic. He has been a renowned sportswriter since 1983 and has a gift of showing the intricate details of each "square" and not just the overall design of the "quilt" in telling each story. His style stems from knowledge, insight and compassion. The book was well worth the read alone for the chapter on A. Bartlett Giamatti (the commissioner who banned Pete Rose from baseball).This work imparts knowledge to the reader of some popular and also some lesser known sports. It profiles several dedicated and accomplished human beings (most just happen to be athletes). It chronicles the obstacles they faced and the triumphs they savored. Most importantly, it proves Celizic's point, "that it is possible to be honorable and decent and still be successful".