Gordon Brown

Peanuts: I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (Deluxe Edition)
$19.98
I picked this DVD up originally in the 4.00 bargain bin at a local store and my daughter fell in love with it, and so did I.

I love seeing Rerun...we don't get to see him much in the Snoopy cartoons. And as my husband put it, how can you ever find something wrong with a cartoon that has a line of "How can anyone not have a dog, or a trust fund OR grape jelly!" Everyone has had days like that I think.

Dockers Men's Gordon Cap Toe Oxford,Antique Cordovan,9 M US
$64.95
I only wore Havana Joes for several years but had trouble finding my size and favorite model. I did not believe I could find a a shoe that could match the quality and service of my Havana Joes but the Dockers Gordon Cap Toe hits the mark! It is an excellent shoe I have no problem recommending - looks great, feels great, and so far, holds up well.

Courage: Portraits of Bravery in the Service of Great Causes
$15.95
U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown shares with his audience the life of eight men and women whose courage he deeply admires. These eight people are Edith Cavell, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Raoul Wallenberg, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Cicely Saunders, and Aung San Suu Kyi. The emphasis on courage as a selection criterion is built on Winston Churchill's observation that courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others (p. 124).

Cavell, Bonhoeffer, Wallenberg, King, Jr., Kennedy, Mandela, Saunders, and Suu Kyi are what Frank Farley calls "sustained altruists" who devote long periods, sometimes their entire lives, to principled causes (p. 240). The other two types of courageous people that Farley identifies are "career heroes," say, emergency workers, police, and military, and "situational heroes," who courageously rise to the occasion as it demands, say, the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 on 9/11. These three categories of courageous people are not mutually exclusive (pp. 239-40).

To his credit, Brown successfully shares his genuine admiration for these eight men and women with his readers. Brown points out that their courage exudes not only physical bravery, but also, and perhaps more importantly, strength of character and strength of beliefs (pp. 1, 35, 38, 64, 67, 72, 78, 85, 96, 106, 129, 139-40, 167, 210-11, 227). These eight men and women did not belong to a "predestined elite" that inevitably had to rise to greatness (pp. 8, 37, 66-70, 80, 92, 118, 123, 152, 183, 241-42, 244). Like the readers of "Courage," they had choices and options throughout their lives. These eight men and women chose action over inaction (pp. 11, 27, 41, 49, 59-61, 70, 92, 106, 126, 152, 186-89, 210).

Cavell, Bonhoeffer, Wallenberg, King, Jr., Kennedy, Mandela, Saunders, and Suu Kyi succeeded in leveraging their strong beliefs and willpower to keep their fears out of the way of their principled causes (pp. 17-18, 23, 32, 44, 53, 83-84, 95, 98, 125, 155, 173, 176, 227, 241, 244). Social disapproval, physical pain, and danger, including the risk of death, ultimately were no match for their personal belief and moral purpose (pp. 20, 28, 36, 40, 47, 55, 66, 79, 137, 155, 161-62, 169-71, 196, 214, 219-25, 228, 236). Like a lighthouse, these eight men and women were driven to bring light where darkness was ruling; this in the name of higher ideals (pp. 1, 34-35, 63, 76, 88, 97, 112-13, 122, 137, 157-58, 189-90, 205, 211, 230, 243).

Although Brown celebrates the courage of these eight men and women he admires, he rightly does not downplay the courage of anonymous people who make a difference in their respective societies. Courage is not a luxury, but a must in the struggle against prejudice, racism, violence, discrimination, and injustice, and in the creation of a good society (p. 242).

To summarize, Brown invites his audience to better know eight courageous men and women who chose to act when others stood by, and made sacrifices that made our world a better place to live in.

As a side note, any proceeds of "Courage" go to a charity whose goal is to support research into the causes and consequences of prematurity (pp. xiv, 244-45).

Sea Kayak: A Manual for Intermediate and Advanced Sea Kayakers
$26.77
Trying to read all I can on sea kayaking, I came upon this book. Simply excellent. Before this one, John Dowd's long-distance touring manual was my favorite. This book is more current, more concisely written and much better illustrated. I also felt that it has a bit broader coverage and more appropriately focused on paddlers who are already familiar with the basics and want to go beyond. A beginner with high aspirations will love this book. A beginner who has no intention to paddle off-shore or in rough waters will find this an overkill.