McCullough is one of my favorite authors. He's so knowledgeable and drives me to think.

Synopsis: Each chapter of this book focuses on an incredible man or woman who has helped to shape the course of history. The book is composed of short essays about Alexander von Humboldt, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederic Remington, Louis Agassiz, Charles & Anne Lindbergh and others. Each of these persons profiled has done something exceptional.

My Review: If you've ever looked at McCullough's 7-800 page books and thought that they looked too overwhelming, then this is the book for you. It gives you a taste of the storytelling abilities of David McCullough and you may find yourself wanting to read one of his longer books to learn more. It seems like these essays are a sort of preview to the longer books about some of these same individuals that McCullough has written since this book was published.

This book should be the required American History Textbook for every high school in the country! If David McCullough can not convince you to be a lifetime reader and student, you are truly a lost cause.

"Brave Companions" is a volume of seventeen previously published articles and addresses about diverse people and events selected by historian David McCullough to inspire Americans to shake off their ambivalence towards and fight their ignorance of history, which has much to teach.

German-born naturalist, Alexander von Humboldt, travels through Spain's long-closed New World holdings, discovering and collecting new species, inspires many to study the natural sciences, including Louis Agassiz, but is remembered today only for discovering the Humboldt Current, which he insists he has merely described.

Swiss-born Agassiz does seminal work on the Ice Age, comes to America to earn a fast dollar lecturing, and stays on to enliven Harvard University and encourage Americans to engage in science and learning. Having inspired Charles Darwin, Agassiz denounces his heresy and loses his once-avid following.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, a rebel against her father's Calvinism, had published a few pieces before writing "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the book that sparks the Civil War. She writes steadily for another 30 years, but nothing rivals her first novel, which had been expected to fail but changed the nation. These are McCullough's three "Phenomena."

"The Real West" is seen through a young Theodore Roosevelt ranching in the Dakota Bad Lands to nurse his broken heart, interacting with the Marquis de Mores, out to earn a fortune, cutting the Chicago meatpackers out of the equation and marketing beef directly to the East. Writer Roosevelt, who wants to preserve the Old West before it inevitably dies out, tips his hat to great Western illustrator/writer Frederick Remington, who does the same. Both write in comfort back home, sallying out to the West only for inspiration.

McCullough's "Pioneers" are the men who hack through disease-infested jungles to build the Panama Railroad, creating a path for the later canal, and the men who brave "the bends" to sink the caissons on which the Brooklyn Bridge is built. John A. Roebling is the project's protomartyr, Washington Roebling his much-suffering (physically and emotionally) son and successor, who as an invalid hermit supervises the massive project through his thoroughly competent wife, Emily. The bridge engineers leave a rich legacy of detailed drawings uncovered 70 years after the project is successfully completed. The final pioneers, a few decades later, are the remarkable pioneer aviator/authors of the 1920s-mid 30s. Like Roosevelt and Remington, they realize their thrilling era is quickly passing and want it not to be utterly forgotten.

McCullough next portrays four "Figures in a Landscape," people he has interviewed or knows personally. Under-appreciated American author, Conrad Richter, is a subject who turns into a friend. Harry Caudill is a Kentucky activist fighting strip mining's rape of the Appalachians. Miriam Rothschild is an untrained but highly acclaimed English naturalist, heir to a fabled fortune, who lives in simplicity, publishes quirky books, and reintroduces wildflowers to the countryside. Finally, famous American photographer, David Plowden, takes his friend on a day trip through rural Illinois, commenting on his craft and the authenticity of heartland America.

Finally, McCullough offers four meditations on the legacies of American history, including a paean to the great and beloved city on the Potomac, a sweeping survey of the half-century 1936-86, a "Recommended Itinerary," physical and literary for 1986 graduates in Middlebury, VT, and an appreciation of the U.S. Congress originally delivered at its bicentennial celebration.

A common thread through Part 5, "On We Go," is that Americans must get over their ambivalence towards and fight their ignorance of history, which has much to teach.

Less than 300 pages in length, this is a collection of Mr. McCullough’s shorter works — magazine articles, lectures, etc. It paints vivid portraits of a wide variety of people — some famous, others rather obscure, but all fascinating. It was just enough to whet my appetite to learn more about these people. Over the course of reading this book, I jotted down the titles of 22 other books I’d like to read.

The section I found most interesting was entitled “Pioneers.” It included an article about the building of the Panama Railroad — yes, railroad. As in, before the canal. Forty-seven and a half miles of track, and 170 bridges of more than 12 feet in length. Next was an article about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. I had no idea how interesting pneumatic caissons were! This was followed by a lovely vignette about the man who discovered and helped to preserve the thousands of intricate hand-drawn plans for the Brooklyn Bridge. The section closed with an intriguing look at the aviation pioneers of the 1920s, many of whom were also prolific writers. I’d read and loved many of the works of pioneer aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery, but was inspired to look up some of the others.

There’s something for everyone in this collection: science, photography, architecture, history, exploration, ecology. All written in David McCullough’s spare, ringing style, these portraits of people and places will spark the imagination and make you want to read more.

DM makes one feel good about history…his easy intellectualism seems homespun…but it’s his nostalgia that seems ever present.

DM died a few years ago and his history that celebrates the past seems quaint and out of place…his speech to some graduating university students especially as DM instructs these graduates to go see Jefferson at Monticello…Jefferson’s statue was just taken down in NYC…

DMs reverence of the past is out of step with those who want to destroy the past.

This is a compilation of previously published essays by McCullough. Many of them are short biographical sketches of various people, some famous, some more obscure. The rest are about a variety of historical events and places. I listened to the audio version which was a pleasure because it is narrated by the author. Each of the chapters is 30 minutes to 1 hour.
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tChapter 1 - Profile of Alexander von Humboldt, the German naturalist, scientist and explorer who journied through South America in the late 1700s
tChapter 2 - Profile of Louis Agassiz, Swiss naturalist who studied fish and founded the study of glaciology
tChapter 3 - Biography of Harriet Beacher Stowe
tChapter 4 - Story about the Marquis de Mores, Teddy Roosevelt, and Medora, North Dakota in the late 1800s
tChapter 5 - Biography of Frederic Remington - American painter, sculptor and writer who lived in the late 1800's and is known for his paintings of the American West
tChapter 6 - The story of the building of the Panama Railroad in the 1850s
tChapter 7 - The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge & profile of Washington Roebling
tChapter 8 - The discovery in the 1960s of the original architectural drawings of the Brooklyn Bridge
tChapter 9 - Pioneers in Early Aviation: Beryl Markham, Charles & Anne Lindburgh, Antoine de Saint-Exupery
tChapter 10 - Profile of American author Conrad Richter
tChapter 11 - Story about attorney and environmental activist Harry Caudill who brought awareness to strip-mining in Letcher County, Kentucky
tChapter 12 - Profile of Miriam Rothchild, a British entomologist and botanist known for her research on fleas
tChapter 13 - Profile of American photographer David Plowden who is known for his documentary photos of Small Town America
tChapter 14 - Nostalgic reminiscences and history about Washington DC
tChapter 15 - Written in 1986, this is a summary of the many changes around the world that had occurred over the last 50 years
tChapter 16 - College Commencement address
tChapter 17 - A call to historians to research and write more about the history of Congress and past members of Congress

Hungry for some summertime-length history vignettes? A snack-sized variety of characters and events easily devoured in your beach chair? Search no more. This is the book for you.

I especially loved reading about the building of the Brooklynn bridge, during which I learned that there was a President called Chester Arthur (public school education?). My hat is off to Emily Roebling, who managed the whole shebang while her husband had a nervous breakdown. Emily was the first brave soul to cross the bridge in her carriage for the grand opening, carrying a rooster as a symbol of victory. Who knew?

I nearly wept when I read that 10,000 copies of Uncle Tom's Cabin sold within the first week of publication and 1.5 million within the first year. And this before the internet even! Breathe.

And I was pleased to meet Miriam Rothschild who catalogued fleas, discovered that the monarch butterfly protects itself by drawing poison from milkweed, and said, "If I had one wish for my children, I would wish that they were interested in natural history, because I think there you get a spiritual well-being that you can get no other way." And I agree. Read a chapter or two, then go catch hermit crabs with your kids.

While most of this book is a set of biographical essays, there are a few chapters that are simply historical essays. So, it sort of feels like a set of essays that David McCullough put together from his writings over the years. There is no single theme holding the book together.

Most of the essays are interesting; the book contains essays about Alexander von Humboldt, Charles Lindbergh, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and lesser-known people. Then the book wanders off into an essay about Washington, DC and an essay about the US Senate of bygone years. Like other books that I've read by David McCullough, the book is enjoyable, but some of the essays simply didn't retain my interest.

Perhaps my neutral attitude toward this book is guided by the fact that I listened to this book as an audiobook. The problem is that the author reads his own book, and his narration has no spark. And as he reads, his voice drifts off toward the end of each sentence, and becomes difficult to hear. I suggest reading the book instead of listening to it.

McCullough writes history that inspires. In this book, he tells stories seldom told about people who changed the world. This is a great book to have on your bedside; one you can pick up and put down over the course of months. Each chapter is about a different person (or, in a few cases, about a certain thing), independent of each other, so you can read a chapter here and a chapter there and pick up on some little-known stories from our country's great heritage.

I listened to this on audio. It is narrated by McCullough who is great writer but not the best narrator. I would recommend reading it. This is a collection of essays about several people who had a major impact on the world or the US. It is an impressive list of people.

Alexander von Humboldt, geographer, naturalist, and surveyor. When visiting Jefferson in the White House to describe his explorations of South America, Humboldt confused the other guests, but not Jefferson, by switching (without realizing it) between English, German, French, and Spanish.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, who I think is one of the most fascinating people in our nation's history. She wrote much more than Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She certainly experienced more than her share of tragedy.

Frederic Remington, an artist who gave the rest of the nation their first imagery of the West.

Teddy Roosevelt during his years in North Dakota.

Louis Agassiz, the Harvard professor who made significant scientific contributions to zoology, and geology. This was particularly interesting to me as I had never heard of him.

Pioneering pilots Charles and Anne Lindbergh, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Beryl Markham.

Harry Caudill, the Kentucky lawyer who brought the dangers of strip mining to the headlines and courtrooms.

Dame Miriam Rothschild (yep, those Rothschilds) who earned international recognition for her study of fleas and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. She collected paintings by schizophrenics. Another person who I knew nothing about.

The men who made the Brooklyn Bridge, its designer John A. Roebling, and his son Washington Roebling who erected it. They had to invent new technologies and tools to do it. They designed and erected what at the time was the longest bridge in the world.

Conrad Richter, the author who brought the American frontier to the mind's eye of readers around the world.

David Plowden, a gifted photographer of industrial and agricultural America. I had never heard of him either.

McCullough talks in the introduction about he similar all these people were in some respects and why that is significant. All in all, it is an interesting look at how people of such varied education, profession, and experience all had a major impact on the world we live in today.

A little different than most of McCulloch's titles, this one is a collection of essays on various American greats. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the naturalist Loius Agassiz, and the astute observation that his brilliance was tarnished when he siphoned his energy in a fruitless effort to discredit Charles Darwin. Agassiz's contributions to science were large, but could have been even greater if he had stuck to being a naturalist rather than trying to be an apologist. Thoughtful insights.