Product Description

In Hard Call, acclaimed authors John McCain and Mark Salter describe the anatomy of great decisions in history by telling the remarkable stories of men and women who have exemplified composure, wisdom, and intellect in the face of life's toughest decisions. The authors identify six qualities typically represented in the best decisions: Awareness. Timing. Foresight. Confidence. Humility. Inspiration. These qualities are personified by the exceptional individuals in this book, each of whom made a hard call:

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  Branch Rickey's awareness of the opposition he would face in integrating the Brooklyn Dodgers, and his sagacity in choosing the right man, Jackie Robinson, to break baseball's color barrier.


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  Winston Churchill's foresight in preparing England's Navy for war.


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  Anwar Sadat's and Menachem Begin's timing in choosing to risk their lives and political careers by seeking peace in the aftermath of war.


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  Gertrude Ederle's confidence in deciding to swim the English Channel - and her fortitude in continuing the quest against the wishes of her coach, despite the fact that no woman had ever succeeded.


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  Reinhold Niebuhr's humility in deciding to abandon his pacifist views and endorse the use of violence against persecution in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.


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  Abraham Lincoln's historic act of inspiration: His decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, the role of faith in his life, and his willingness to suffer for a cause greater than himself.

Woven into these stories are John McCain's own views on the process and art of decision-making and examples of the hard calls we face in our lives. "When I assess a decision," McCain writes, "I want to know all I can about the character of the decision maker before I examine the properties of the decision, its outcome or how it was arrived at."

Hard Call is a testament to the people whose choices serve as a beacon for us all.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9844 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

From Publishers Weekly
As he faces down the perplexing issues of war in Iraq and immigration reform at home, it's fitting that Arizona senator McCain, a contender for the 2008 Republican presidential bid, would spend time reflecting on principled stands that either "win a hero's welcome or indefinite pain and suffering." McCain and co-author Salter follow the blueprint of their previous book, Why Courage Matters, to provide readers with a series of character-as-history profiles of the men and women who shaped seminal moments in 20th century political and cultural history, from the integration of professional baseball to the pardoning of Richard Nixon to the end of the Cold War, as well as seemingly trivial accomplishments like the invention of the disposable razor ("Sell the shave, not the razor"). Throughout, an insider's view provides keen insight on the caprices of history and more than a few echoes of current events, most importantly the interplay between personal experience and national destiny. Meticulously crafted, this collection will appeal to those who respect McCain's reputation as a maverick for whom "faith and courage" ranks among the most important forces in human history.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
With his political intentions so well known, it can be difficult to discern if this is a simple attempt to examine Òhard callsÓ in history or merely McCainÕs way of demonstrating his knowledge of such events. Of course, the implication is that he, too, knows how to identify such situations and make the right choices. Daniel Kelly uses emphasis and a deliberate pace to good effect as the author discusses events such as the CHALLENGER explosion, the invention of the telephone, and the decisions that led to Jackie RobinsonÕs crossing the color line. McCainÕs narrations are delivered in a more oratory fashion that resembles speeches or lectures more than actual narration. Much like a campaign speech, the bonus ÒconversationÓ sounds a bit rehearsed. L.E. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Much admired for his integrity, McCain offers profiles of individuals who have been confronted with difficult situations and made heroic choices. He begins Bud Day, an air force major who escaped captivity in Vietnam in 1967 only to be recaptured and help others—including McCain—survive. McCain details the qualities represented in making the hard calls in life: awareness, foresight, timing, confidence, humility, and inspiration. The most important part of the equation is self-awareness, and McCain recalls how his own lack of self-awareness caused him to be captured in Vietnam. In separate chapters, he explores each of those qualities and provides examples of people who exemplify them. Branch Rickey, who broke the color barrier in American baseball by hiring Jackie Robinson, is profiled for his awareness of the pernicious impact of racism. Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, the former pacifist, who turned his considerable intellect to support World War II, is profiled for his humility in recognizing the paradox of war in the context of moral responsibility. McCain also cites former President Gerald Ford for his humility in showing mercy for disgraced President Nixon and pardoning him, at great political cost. Among the inspirational profiles are Apollo II mission commander Neil Armstrong and Captain Robert Gould Shaw, who commanded the all-black Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War. McCain and cowriter Salter treat all of those profiled in great detail, providing the historical context for their hard calls. Bush, Vanessa

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Customer Reviews

Written by a Charlatan
McCain has never tried to work through a tough decision. His own autobiography describes (although the description is watered down) his duplicity that got American service men killed. If you want to buy a book about hard decisions then buy it from someone who has made one.

Hard Call: The Art of Great Decisions
This is an excellent book. One of the finest, most thought-provoking books I have read.

A Preview of a Possible Presidency
McCain's book, moreso than that of other politicians, does give you a feel for how he would be as a president. His view of what is a hard call is very relevant.
I do have a quibble in that early on he criticizes the faulty intelligence leading to the Iraq war, then closes the Niebuhr/Bonhoffer chapter under "Humility" with the suggestion they would possibly back the
Iraq war today.
But it does have a variety of history of an era that I lived through but did not pick up on during my childhood, and does give a view of the man.