Brave Decisions: Moral Courage from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm

His regiment trapped in a Panamanian cholera epidemic, quartermaster Captain Ulysses S. Grant must decide whether to risk his career and his family's already shaky financial future by ignoring strict regulations and hiring mules himself, or waiting for an Army-approved company agent. Warned of a hostile reception on the Japanese mainland immediately after the surrender, General Douglas MacArthur must either bring bodyguards or make a show of confidence by arriving unarmed, thus expediting the peace. Offered an appointment as NATO commander, General Maxwell Taylor must decide whether to accept the prestigious post or resign in order to speak out about what he believes to be a flawed American strategy. Each of these men and the 12 others - Daniel Morgan, Robert E. Lee, Henry Walke, Stonewall Jackson, Patrick O'Rorke, John J. Pershing, Billy Mitchell, Matthew B. Ridgway, Lucius D. Clay, William F. Dean, Alexander Haig Jr and H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr - whose stories make up this book, must make a difficult decision. Their dilemmas, however, are not the kind which are normally associated with military heroes: they are not simple choices between honour and dishonour. Rather, the men must choose between a hard, courageous and ethical path that has potentially dire personal consequences or a relatively safe, blame-free and easier alternative. Either choice they make can be considered "right"; Grant, MacArthur, Taylor and the others all choose "the harder right".