4thace reviewed Brave Companions by David McCullough
Review of 'Brave Companions' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This collection of essays describes the lives of historical features from Alexander von Humboldt (a naturalist born in 1769) up through the last decades of the twentieth century. Its subject include those who are are relatively well known and those who are practically unknown, along with some less appreciated aspects of some people who do have some name recognition. For instance, I did not know how badly Harriet Beecher Stowe was affected by the charges laid against her brother, causing her to move where she would be out of the public eye for some time.
The settings the life stories are placed in vary widely, from those who work in obscurity in the hinterlands of the United States, artists and engineers who work obsessively on their creative visions, and the varied lives of groups of people such as noted aviators in the early part of the twentieth century. The do …
This collection of essays describes the lives of historical features from Alexander von Humboldt (a naturalist born in 1769) up through the last decades of the twentieth century. Its subject include those who are are relatively well known and those who are practically unknown, along with some less appreciated aspects of some people who do have some name recognition. For instance, I did not know how badly Harriet Beecher Stowe was affected by the charges laid against her brother, causing her to move where she would be out of the public eye for some time.
The settings the life stories are placed in vary widely, from those who work in obscurity in the hinterlands of the United States, artists and engineers who work obsessively on their creative visions, and the varied lives of groups of people such as noted aviators in the early part of the twentieth century. The do all share a kind of determination at the heights of their careers to see a successful outcome of the path they are on, whether it was one they labored to create or one they happened upon. For some, such as the Marquis de Mores and his experiment on raising cattle on the Great planes, they ended up abandoning their efforts, while still leaving some mark on the allies and adversaries they made. This is a collection that is easy to dip in and out of, not having to worry about keeping a long narrative arc in your mind all at one time.
I had not read the author's other more famous books which won him his major awards. I think this book would be a good introduction for someone contemplating picking up one of the large authoritative histories to get a sense of his style and eye for telling details. It is a relatively short volume compare to these other, I think, and almost anyone will find at least a couple of biographies here that they thought they wouldn't be interested in consuming which will end up hooking them in after all.