Brave Companions: Portraits in History
Brave Companions: Portraits in History
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Overview
The bestselling author of Truman and John Adams, David McCullough has written profiles of exceptional men and women past and present who have not only shaped the course of history or changed how we see the world but whose stories express much that is timeless about the human condition.
Here are Alexander von Humboldt, whose epic explorations of South America surpassed the Lewis and Clark expedition; Harriet Beecher Stowe, “the little woman who made the big war”; Frederic Remington; the extraordinary Louis Agassiz of Harvard; Charles and Anne Lindbergh, and their fellow long-distance pilots Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Beryl Markham; Harry Caudill, the Kentucky lawyer who awakened the nation to the tragedy of Appalachia; and David Plowden, a present-day photographer of vanishing America.
Different as they are from each other, McCullough’s subjects have in common a rare vitality and sense of purpose. These are brave companions: to each other, to David McCullough, and to the reader, for with rare storytelling ability McCullough brings us into the times they knew and their very uncommon lives.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781442393165 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster Audio |
| Publication date: | 09/29/2015 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 390,068 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.10(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
David McCullough (1933–2022) twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback. His other acclaimed books include The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, Brave Companions, 1776, The Greater Journey, The American Spirit, The Wright Brothers, and The Pioneers. He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. Visit DavidMcCullough.com.
Hometown:
West Tisbury, MassachusettsDate of Birth:
July 7, 1933Place of Birth:
Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaEducation:
B.A., Yale University, 1955Read an Excerpt
Chapter 1
Journey to the Top of the World
On a morning in May 1804, there arrived at the White House by Baltimore coach, and in the company of the painter Charles Willson Peale, a visitor from abroad: an aristocratic young German, age thirty-four, a bachelor, occupation scientist and explorer. And like Halley's comet or the white whale or other such natural phenomena dear to the nineteenth century, he would be remembered by all who saw him for the rest of their days.
He had come to pay his respects to the president of the new republic, Thomas Jefferson, a fellow "friend of science," and to tell him something of his recent journeys through South and Central America. For the next several weeks he did little else but talk, while Jefferson, on their walks about the White House grounds; or James Madison, the secretary of state; or the clever Mrs. Madison; or Albert Gallatin, the secretary of the treasury; or those who came to dine with the president or to do business with him, listened in awe.
The young man, they found, was a naturalist, an astronomer, a geographer, a geologist, a botanist, an authority on Indian antiquities, a linguist, an artist -- an academy unto himself, as the poet Goethe would say. He was at home in any subject. He had read every book. He had seen things almost impossible to imagine. "We all consider him as a very extraordinary man," Gallatin told his wife, speaking apparently for Jefferson's entire official family, "and his travels, which he intends publishing on his return to Europe, will, I think, rank above any other productions of the kind." He also talked at double the speed of anybody Gallatin had ever met beforeand would shift suddenly from English, which he spoke superbly, into French or Spanish or German, seemingly unaware of what he was doing, but never hesitating for a word, apparently to the very great confusion of his newfound American friends, Jefferson and the Swiss-born Gallatin not included.
Gallatin, a man not easily impressed, found the extent of the visitor's reading and scientific knowledge astonishing. "I was delighted," he said, "and swallowed more information of various kinds in less than two hours than I had for two years past in all I had read and heard."
In a letter to Jefferson written from Philadelphia a few days earlier, the young man had said, "[I would] love to talk to you about a subject that you have treated so ingeniously in your work on Virginia, the teeth of mammoth, which we too discovered in the Andes." Jefferson had responded immediately and most cordially. "A lively desire will be felt generally to receive the information you will be able to give." In the new capital city, Jefferson wrote, there was "nothing curious to attract the observations of a traveler," which was largely so, save, of course, for Jefferson himself. Upon arrival the young man had found the presidential mansion anything but imposing -- crude wooden steps led to the front door, rooms were still unplastered -- and at one point he had inadvertently encountered the chief executive sprawled on the floor, wrestling with his grandchildren.
But there they were in Washington for several days, two of the most remarkable men of their time, fellow spirits if ever there were, talking, talking endlessly, intensely, their conversation having quickly ranged far from fossil teeth.
The young man's name was Humboldt, Alexander von Humboldt -- Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt -- or Baron von Humboldt, as he was commonly addressed. He had been born in Berlin on September 14, 1769, the second son of a middle-aged army officer, a minor figure in the court of Frederick the Great, and of a rather solemn, domineering young woman of Huguenot descent who had inherited a sizable fortune. He was a baron in about the way some Southerners are colonels.
William Burwell, Jefferson's private secretary, described him as looking considerably younger than his age, "of small figure, well made, agreeable looks, simple unaffected manners, remarkably sprightly." And Humboldt's passport, issued in Paris in 1798, has him five feet, eight inches tall, with "light-brown hair, gray eyes, large nose, rather large mouth, well-formed chin, open forehead marked by smallpox." However, in a portrait by Peale, done shortly after the trip to see Jefferson, the eyes are as blue as Dutch tiles.
Years later, when the phenomenon of Humboldt had become known the world over, the learned and curious would journey thousands of miles for the chance to see him, and his published works would be taken as the gospel of a new age. He would be regarded as the incomparable high priest of nineteenth-century science -- a towering godlike inspiration to such a disparate assortment of individuals as John Charles Frémont, John James Audubon, John Lloyd Stephens, Sir Charles Lyell, Simón Bolívar, W. H. Hudson, William Hickling Prescott, Edward Whymper, Charles Darwin, Louis Agassiz. Darwin, during the voyage of the Beagle, would carry with him three inspirational books -- the Bible, Milton, and Humboldt.
But at this point the name Humboldt meant very little. The honorary citizenships, the countless decorations, were all still to come. No Pacific Ocean current, no bay or glacier or river had been named for him as yet, no mountains in China. Humboldt, Kansas, and Humboldt, Iowa, were still prairie grass, part of that incomprehensibly vast piece of the continent purchased by Jefferson from Napoleon only the year before and that Jefferson had just sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to investigate. So it was the young man himself, not a reputation, and the story he had to tell that captivated everyone. After nearly five years he had returned from one of the great scientific odysseys of all time. It was a journey that would capture the imagination of the age, but that has been strangely forgotten in our own time. It is doubtful that one educated American in ten today could say who exactly Humboldt was or what he did, not even, possibly, in Humboldt, Iowa, or Humboldt, Kansas. Perhaps this is because his travels were through Spanish America. Perhaps his extraordinary accomplishments were simply overshadowed by the popular impact of the Lewis and Clark expedition. In any event, his was a journey of enormous scientific consequence (far more so than the Lewis and Clark expedition) and a fascinating adventure by any standards.
In the company of a young French medical doctor turned botanist, Aime Bonpland, Humboldt had departed from La Coruña, Spain, in June 1799, on a Spanish frigate, slipping past a British blockade in the dark of night, in the midst of a storm, and carrying with him a unique document from the Spanish government. He and Bonpland had been granted complete freedom to explore -- for scientific purposes -- any or all of Spain's largely unexplored American colonies; to make astronomical observations, maps; to collect; to go wherever they wished, speak to whomever they wished. The whole arrangement was quite unprecedented (prior to this Spain had rigorously denied any such travels by foreigners), and it had come about quite by chance.
Humboldt, after completing his education and serving as a government inspector of mines in Prussia, had decided to lead his own far-flung scientific expedition. Just where was an open question, but both of his parents had died, with the result that he had become a man of ample private means and was free to do whatever he wished. His impulse had been to go to Egypt, to catch up with Napoleon's troops there. But he and Bonpland (whom he had met by chance in Paris) had proceeded no farther than Spain when Humboldt, during an audience with Charles IV, expressed an interest in His Catholic Majesty's overseas empire. An expedition, to be paid for by Humboldt, was immediately and most unexpectedly sanctioned, an
Table of Contents
IntroductionI Phenomena
CHAPTER ONE Journey to the Top of the World
CHAPTER TWO The American Adventure of Louis Agassiz
CHAPTER THREE The Unexpected Mrs. Stowe
II The Real West
CHAPTER FOUR Glory Days in Medora
CHAPTER FIVE Remington
III Pioneers
CHAPTER SIX Steam Road to El Dorado
CHAPTER SEVEN The Builders
CHAPTER EIGHT The Treasure from the Carpentry Shop
CHAPTER NINE Long-Distance Vision
IV Figures in a Landscape
CHAPTER TEN Cross the Blue Mountain
CHAPTER ELEVEN The Lonely War of a Good Angry Man
CHAPTER TWELVE Miriam Rothschild
CHAPTER THIRTEEN South of Kankakee: A Day with David Plowden
V On We Go
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Washington on the Potomac
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Extraordinary Times
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Recommended Itinerary
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Simon Willard's Clock
Index
Reading Group Guide
Brave Companions
David McCullough
Questions and Topics for Discussion
- Aime Bonpland Humbolt, naturalist, geographer, geologist, botanist, linguist, and artist believed in a harmony of nature that included man. Humbolt lived until ninety and saw most of his work become "old hat." What do you think was Humbolt's largest contribution to science? Why did McCullough include him in this collection?
- With little first-hand knowledge and exposure to the institution of slavery, Harriet Beecher Stowe was able to write Uncle Tom's Cabin, a kind of fictional muckracking that inarguably shed more light on the ills of slavery than any widely read publication or discourse of the time. Stowe writes, "The power of fictitious writing, for good and evil, is a thing which ought most seriously to be reflected on. No one can fail to see that in our day it is becoming a very great agency." What agency is Stowe speaking of? Do you agree with this statement? Can you recall a contemporary novel or publication that created a stir to ultimately impact social or political change?
- According to McCullough, Frederick Remington's successful career seems to have happened by chance and good fate. In this vignette, you never truly get a sense of how he was discovered, but it is clear that Remington's honesty and personal and artistic integrity took a back seat to the advancement of his career. Discuss the instances where Remington was dishonest in his art. How would you explain the driving force behind his work?
- Emily Roebling, wife of John A. Roebling, was said to be a women of "unusual executive ability," when Roebling took ill, she was in many ways second-in-command as gatekeeper and communicator between Roebling and the board of trustees. If Emily Roebling had a position in her own right, imagine what position she would hold and what would her job entail? What do you think is the role of a "first lady"? Explain.
- The drawings of the Brooklyn Bride were on the verge of disposal until Francis Valentine discovered the collection totaling over ten thousand drawings. What is the historical context that made those drawings dispensable? What contributed to a lack of respect for the technological feat that was the Brooklyn Bridge? The Municipal Archives is currently the rightful owner of the drawings. In your opinion, who should be the rightful owner of the drawings? What museum or locale would better serve the public? Give your rationale.
- In "Long Distance Vision" McCullough highlights the writings of pioneer aviators who include, Amelia Earhart, Beryl Markham, and Anne Lindbergh. What was is about flight that inspired the literary works of these pioneers to great heights? McCullough writes, "The airplane offered a spiritual pilgrimage in ways other machines never had. These aviators wrote of being lifted out of themselves by the very act of flight, of becoming part of something infinitely larger than themselves." Explain what he means by this. What can be said of space explorations contribution to art? Why do you think we've had no literary stars among astronauts?
- The vignette on Conrad Richter was more a personal elegy for McCullough than a glorification of Richter's work. What did McCullough intend for the reader to take from this story? Explain Richter's attachment to the mainland of North America and why it was important to him as a writer?
- Miriam Rothschild was insatiable passionate about nature and a well decorated and honored scientist. Rothschild says, "Somehow people have lost the sense of being in a landscape." Explain what she means by this statement. Does her sentiment apply today? What in your daily routine puts you in mindful contact with nature? How does that connection affect your spiritual wellbeing?
- David Plowden's creative process was often a never-ending search in trying to capture the most interesting moment. How would you define his creative process and how does that process serve as a framework in understanding David McCullough's work. Why do you think he chose to include Plowden in Brave Companions?
- What do you make of McCullough's ode to The Capitol in "Washington on the Potomac"? In it, he begs the question, "Why do so many politicians fell obliged to get away from the city at every chance? The claim a pressing need to get back to the real America. To win votes, many of them like also to deride the city and mock its institutions." What contributes to a lack of pride in The Capitol? What would a politician gain from a disassociation with Washington, D.C.? Do you agree with McCullough? Why or why not?
11. In "Extraordinary Times" what events pinpoint 1936 as the turning point for this essay? McCullough argues that since 1936, the United States has been in a steady social and moral decline. Do you agree? Craft your own historical narrative of events following 1936.
12. In "Recommended Itinerary" a convocation speech at Middlebury College in Vermont, McCullough says, "We have not had a president of the United States with a sense of history since John Kennedy". Do you think this is true of the current administration? Why? Why is history important to you? Is history loosing value in our society? Explain.
Introduction
Brave Companions
Reader's Group Guide
1. Aime Bonpland Humbolt, naturalist, geographer, geologist, botanist, linguist, and artist believed in a harmony of nature that included man. Humbolt lived until ninety and saw most of his work become "old hat." What do you think was Humbolt's largest contribution to science? Why did McCullough include him in this collection?
2. With little first-hand knowledge and exposure to the institution of slavery, Harriet Beecher Stowe was able to write Uncle Tom's Cabin, a kind of fictional muckracking that inarguably shed more light on the ills of slavery than any widely read publication or discourse of the time. Stowe writes, "The power of fictitious writing, for good and evil, is a thing which ought most seriously to be reflected on. No one can fail to see that in our day it is becoming a very great agency." What agency is Stowe speaking of? Do you agree with this statement? Can you recall a contemporary novel or publication that created a stir to ultimately impact social or political change?
3. According to McCullough, Frederick Remington's successful career seems to have happened by chance and good fate. In this vignette, you never truly get a sense of how he was discovered, but it is clear that Remington's honesty and personal and artistic integrity took a back seat to the advancement of his career. Discuss the instances where Remington was dishonest in his art. How would you explain the driving force behind his work?
4. Emily Roebling, wife of John A. Roebling, was said to be a women of "unusual executive ability," when Roebling took ill, she was in many ways second-in-command as gatekeeper and communicatorbetween Roebling and the board of trustees. If Emily Roebling had a position in her own right, imagine what position she would hold and what would her job entail? What do you think is the role of a "first lady"? Explain.
5. The drawings of the Brooklyn Bride were on the verge of disposal until Francis Valentine discovered the collection totaling over ten thousand drawings. What is the historical context that made those drawings dispensable? What contributed to a lack of respect for the technological feat that was the Brooklyn Bridge? The Municipal Archives is currently the rightful owner of the drawings. In your opinion, who should be the rightful owner of the drawings? What museum or locale would better serve the public? Give your rationale.
6. In "Long Distance Vision" McCullough highlights the writings of pioneer aviators who include, Amelia Earhart, Beryl Markham, and Anne Lindbergh. What was is about flight that inspired the literary works of these pioneers to great heights? McCullough writes, "The airplane offered a spiritual pilgrimage in ways other machines never had. These aviators wrote of being lifted out of themselves by the very act of flight, of becoming part of something infinitely larger than themselves." Explain what he means by this. What can be said of space explorations contribution to art? Why do you think we've had no literary stars among astronauts?
7. The vignette on Conrad Richter was more a personal elegy for McCullough than a glorification of Richter's work. What did McCullough intend for the reader to take from this story? Explain Richter's attachment to the mainland of North America and why it was important to him as a writer.
8. Miriam Rothschild was insatiable passionate about nature and a well decorated and honored scientist. Rothschild says, "Somehow people have lost the sense of being in a landscape." Explain what she means by this statement. Does her sentiment apply today? What in your daily routine puts you in mindful contact with nature? How does that connection affect your spiritual wellbeing?
9. David Plowden's creative process was often a never-ending search in trying to capture the most interesting moment. How would you define his creative process and how does that process serve as a framework in understanding David McCullough's work. Why do you think he chose to include Plowden in Brave Companions?
10. What do you make of McCullough's ode to The Capitol in "Washington on the Potomac"? In it, he begs the question, "Why do so many politicians fell obliged to get away from the city at every chance? The claim a pressing need to get back to the real America. To win votes, many of them like also to deride the city and mock its institutions." What contributes to a lack of pride in The Capitol? What would a politician gain from a disassociation with Washington, D.C.? Do you agree with McCullough? Why or why not?
11. In "Extraordinary Times" what events pinpoint 1936 as the turning point for this essay? McCullough argues that since 1936, the United States has been in a steady social and moral decline. Do you agree? Craft your own historical narrative of events following 1936.
12. In "Recommended Itinerary" a convocation speech at Middlebury College in Vermont, McCullough says, "We have not had a president of the United States with a sense of history since John Kennedy". Do you think this is true of the current administration? Why? Why is history important to you? Is history loosing value in our society? Explain.
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