STORIES OF COURAGE

Forty-three double page spreads scanning courageous lives, most of them well known figures (Beethoven, Luthuli, Socrates, Alexander Nevsky), a preponderance of Britishers, ""almost all about courage in battle, for in the days when battles were the most important news, this was the sort of courage people always remembered."" Besides the predictable core of warriors, several religious figures (St. Joan, Peter, Becket, More) are included, and representatives from Europe and most points east and west. In some cases the selection is decidedly underwhelming; e.g. Charles standard bearer. Being oversized, the book may look too young to those mature enough to handle the vocabulary and style, and the illustrations (""A Red Indian,"" ""A Cavalier"" two inches high) are inadequate approximations.