A galaxy of legendary figures from the annals of Western history In this enlightening and entertaining work, Paul Johnson, the bestselling author of Intellectuals and Creators, approaches the subject of heroism with stirring examples of men and women from every age, walk of life, and corner of the planet who have inspired and transformed not only their own cultures but the entire world as well. Heroes includes: Samson, Judith, and Deborah • Henry V and Joan of Arc • Elizabeth I and Walter Raleigh • George Washington, the Duke of Wellington, and Lord Nelson • Emily Dickinson • Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee • Mae West and Marilyn Monroe • Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II Editorial Reviews Many readers will find some favorite historical figure oddly omitted. Personally, I miss Christ and Trotsky. But, at its best, this book brings to life such leaders as George Washington and Admiral Nelson, who have become so iconic as to be without feature or flavor...It is Johnson's gift that he can make his subjects human and fallible enough that we would, indeed, recognize them instantly, while also illuminating what made them heroes. If the rich are different because they have money, heroes are different because they have courage. -The Washington Post - Richard Lourie Veteran journalist and historian Johnson (Modern Times; A History of the Jews) offers 30 brief profiles of "heroes." Unfortunately, he offers a vague, tautological definition: "anyone is a hero who has been widely, persistently, over long periods, and enthusiastically regarded as heroic...." Yet Johnson's choice of subjects is highly idiosyncratic; Mae West and Marilyn Monroe are included, but not Gandhi, Mandela or Sakharov, not to mention scientists, entrepreneurs and athletes. Johnson, who is prone toward his fellow Brits, even includes a chapter on "the heroism of the hostess," including the mid-20th-century London hostess Lady Pamela Berry, whom he seems to have known well and portrays as having admirable interpersonal skills. His book contains fascinating facts and insights; for example, Johnson calls the biblical Samson "the first suicide-martyr-mass killer" and we learn that the austere philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, who had studied engineering, invented a helicopter part "which later became standard." Still, Johnson profiles no one in depth. The conservative author also cites as a personal hero the late Chilean dictator Pinochet, whom Johnson credits with saving his country from communism and was then "demonized" by the Soviet Union. Though informative and entertaining, this is not one of Johnson's better efforts. (Dec.)Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information - Publishers Weekly Prolific historian Johnson (Modern Times) returns to his idiosyncratic series, which includes Intellectuals: From Marx and Tolstoy to Sartre and Chomskyand Creators: From Chaucer and Dürer to Picasso and Disney. His anecdotal essays portray his heroes in complementary groupings (e.g., Washington, Nelson, and Wellington). His subjects range widely from the obligatory (e.g., Alexander the Great, Joan of Arc, Lincoln) to the far-fetched (Mae West, hostess Lady Pamela Berry). Johnson frequently enlivens his witty, well-researched pages with chatty accounts of personal encounters with people as diverse as Princess Diana and Shelley Winters. The book loses some steam as it closes in on the present day. The politically conservative author makes the questionable choice of concluding his fabulous parade of heroes with a tendentious trio yet to experience any kind of true test of time as "heroes": Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and John Paul II. The book will be enjoyed more by those looking for sophisticated entertainment than anybody wanting a thorough analysis of what makes a hero-although Johnson clearly believes "courage" is a leading qualifier. For readers of popular literature in public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ8/07.] -Stewart Desmond - Library Journal In a companion volume to Creators: From Chaucer and Durer to Picasso and Disney (2006), prolific English historian Johnson offers a highly idiosyncratic selection of his favorite extraordinary mortals, male and female. The conservative world view evident in works like Intellectuals (1989) was slightly muffled in Creators, but it's back with all flags flying here, especially in a bizarrely reactionary final chapter on the "heroic trinity" of Reagan, Thatcher and John Paul II. (Not that the incongruous essay that precedes it, "Heroism Behind the Greasepaint: Mae West and Marilyn Monroe," is much more enlightened.) Safely dead for millennia, Alexander the Great and Caesar are less surprising choices, though their ruthless quest of vast empires and boundless self-ambition gives Johnson some pause. Churchill, naturally, wins a solid place as a "generous hero," while de Gaulle is grudgingly included as "a heroic monster." The Hebrews "made full use of the brains and courage of their women," declares Johnson in a chapter on the biblical feats of Deborah, Judith, Samson and David. Though the author believes that "when performed by women [heroism's] element of hate and inhumanity appears particularly savage, he nonetheless lists British Queen Boudica, who led a surprisingly successful revolt against Roman rule in 60-61 A.D. Medieval nationalist figures Joan of Arc and Henry V are cited, along with the predicable pantheon of Elizabethan heroes honed "in the age of the axe." Superhumans fashioned "in the roar of the cannon's mouth" (Washington, Nelson and Wellington) are followed by Civil War leaders Lincoln and Lee. Johnson offers some terrific choices in Jane Welsh Carlyle, stuck in a torturous marriage, and reclusive poet Emily Dickinson, whose life was a "successful struggle against fear." Wittgenstein warrants a long, tedious chapter, though the author perks up while discussing famous hostesses throughout history. The author's vast stores of scholarship and reading keep this jaunty trek from becoming corny. - Kirkus Reviews