Founding Courage
Kirk Ward Robinson
HighlandHome Publishing (2025)
ISBN: 979-8988681564
Reviewed by Dawn Colclasure for Reader Views (12/2025)
Notable and inspiring people helped create history and inspired change in our world. Some of them inspired others in small ways, while some inspired change in ways that history would recognize in the record books. In the book Founding Courage: Courage and Character in the United States of America by Kirk Ward Robinson, readers will get to meet some not-so-famous individuals who showed courage in daring situations, as well as revisit the history of individuals spoken of in school.
The variety of individuals featured in this book will take readers through various aspects of history, where they will read about people who showed courage against a common enemy or a national threat. Both men and women have summoned their courage for change. The individuals featured in this book truly needed courage to stand up for what was right as well as to help others, and these stories show in remarkable detail how they summoned such courage in spite of any barriers they faced.
The title of this book includes the word “founding,” and it may cause one to think of our nation’s founding fathers. The father of our country, George Washington, was among them, and his was certainly a life of courage. So of course he belongs in this book, as readers of biographies about George Washington would be aware that his was a life bravely lived. Despite the obstacles he faced, he thrived both in military service and in politics. This chapter alone is an inspiration to read and echoes the importance of a life well-lived among those mentioned in this book who showed great courage in the face of danger.
While reading many of the stories in this book did not mean taking a deep dive into every life profiled, it would seem that the lifetime of some has been covered more in-depth. Take, for example, the chapter about Matthew Henson. Before reading this book, I had never heard of Henson, nor did I know of his accomplishments as an Arctic explorer. This was a very fascinating chapter to read, and I am grateful to the author for writing a chapter that almost reads like a brief biography of Henson.
I was truly impressed by the chapter about Rachel Carson, a person whom, up until the time I read this chapter, I knew only to be the author of Silent Spring. This chapter about her life and work was truly gratifying and educational. And the last chapter about Karen Silkwood, a woman I had never known about, was also a truly engaging read. Both chapters, one of a woman widely known and another of a woman not so widely known, were intriguing, informative, and engrossing. I could not stop reading these chapters, even though I had to on occasion due to responsibilities. But they completely held my interest.
In fact, all of the chapters in this book held my interest. From the unknown to the known, the famous to the not-so-famous, several people’s profiles of courage are recorded in this book. It was also interesting to read the author’s thoughts and ideas about what exactly defines “courage” and who among the many people throughout history were worthy of being called “courageous.”
Kirk Ward Robinson’s Founding Courage: Courage and Character in the United States of America is a compelling collection of stories profiling the courageous lives of many individuals who helped shape as well as influence America. The stories in this book are not just brief mentions of these individuals but engrossing biographical portraits showing the lives they lived that ultimately defined the stellar individuals they became. This book is highly recommended to fans of history and culture, as well as readers who enjoy learning about interesting people from history and just what kind of pivotal roles they played in creating change and inspiring courage.