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Courage Can Save Us
- Author
- Rye Barcott
- Narrator
- Rye Barcott
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 8 October 2026
- Run Time
- 12 hours 29 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
From a U.S. Marine and co-founder of With Honor, and written ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, comes the story of principled veterans who work across party lines to shape our nation and inspire us to serve with courage in our own lives.
Featuring exclusive interviews with: *Mark Kelly * Dan Crenshaw * Mikie Sherrill * Wes Moore * Todd Young * Brian Fitzpatrick * Seth Moulton * John James * Don Bacon * Jared Golden
When most Americans think of acts of courage, elected office is rarely the first place they look. And while more Americans than ever reject party labels, the political arena remains dominated by the loudest voices at each extreme. This moment demands leaders willing to govern across party lines, resist the incentives of modern politics, and choose courage over outrage.
One group is uniquely suited to meet that challenge: America’s veterans. Courage Can Save Us follows nine veterans and a former FBI agent—five Democrats and five Republicans—who have carried the ethic of service from the battlefield into public life. Ambitious and altruistic, forthright and flawed, they confront the moral and personal costs of leadership in an unsettled age: public attacks, private doubt, and the risk of losing everything they have worked for in service of the common good.
More than a collection of political profiles, Courage Can Save Us is a portrait of a bipartisan generation of post-9/11 leaders striving to rise above polarization and a culture of contempt. It is an examination of courage in its many forms—and a challenge to all of us to consider how courage can strengthen our democracy, and our own lives.
Critics Review
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Courage is needed nowadays more than ever. And courage comes in many forms. Often quietly, and often at great personal loss. And it is at its best when it’s in the service of others. This book gets to heart of what being courageous means and why we all need it in our lives.
Bear Grylls OBE
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For much of the twentieth century, military service helped shape American leadership. Nearly two-thirds of our presidents wore the nation’s uniform, and in the decades after World War II veterans held the majority of seats in Congress—an era when bipartisanship flourished. In Courage Can Save Us, Rye Barcott shines a dramatic spotlight on ten veterans—men and women, Republicans and Democrats—now serving in elected office across the country. Forged in service and tested by sacrifice, their inspiring stories reveal how courage, character, and common purpose can still renew our democracy—and restore hope for its future.
Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of LEADERSHIP: IN TURBULENT TIMES
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Rye Barcott and I came of age as Marines in Iraq. We carry the costs of the post-9/11 wars and the questions they left behind about our country’s character and what kind of leadership it demands. So do many of the ten Americans he profiles. He writes about these elected officials with candor, clarity, and hard-earned understanding. An important book for our generation—and for the country we still believe in.
Elliot Ackerman, National Book Award finalist and author of 2034 and 2054
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These are the times that buy men’s souls. Thank God, some souls are not for sale. Politics has never been a refuge for the pure. Ambition, compromise, and pressure come with the territory. Yet the stories in this book remind us that even there—especially there—courage still emerges. In these tightly paced portraits, Rye Barcott shows how imperfect men and women who have worn the cloth of the nation choose service over self-interest at moments of consequence. A bracing and hopeful account of character in a divided chapter of our national life.
Karl Marlantes, author of MATTERHORN and WHAT IT IS LIKE TO GO TO WAR
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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Rye Barcott’s spectacular book shares moving stories of military and public leaders who are role models in these challenging times. They teach us all how to be courageous—an essential quality that is lacking in many leaders.
Bill George, author of TRUE NORTH and former CEO of Medtronic
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A wild ride.
Bono on It Happened on the Way to War
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Compelling and important.
Lionel Barber, editor-in-chief, Financial Times on It Happened on the Way to War
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Read this book. You'll be hooked after the first page.
Adi Ignatius, editor-in-chief, Harvard Business Review on It Happened on the Way to War
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A truly amazing memoir.
Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried on It Happened on the Way to War
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Detailed, vivid, earnest, and remarkable.
James Fallows, The Atlantic on It Happened on the Way to War
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A tremendous story of the power of friendship, love, and the transforming grace of God.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate on It Happened on the Way to War
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A must read for anyone interested in leadership.
Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO, Google on It Happened on the Way to War
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Rye Barcott has wielded both sword and plowshare-- a tale he tells with great insight and compassion in this tautly written, fast-moving book.
David Gergin, author of Eyewitness to Power on It Happened on the Way to War
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Compelling. Former Marine Captain Rye Barcott demonstrates how our forces must today be capable of fighting and development in this important and revealing story of service on two fronts.
H.R. McMaster on It Happened on the Way to War
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Rye Barcott is one of those rare people who can bridge the widest divides. This book is a gift.
Nathaniel Fick, author of One Bullet Away on It Happened on the Way to War
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Rye Barcott
- Narrator
- Rye Barcott
- Duration
- 12 hours 29 minutes
- Release Date
- 8 October 2026
- ISBN
- 9781035929269
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- Military veterans, Politics and government, Corruption in politics, government and society, Central / national / federal government
Synopsis
Bloomsbury presents Courage Can Save Us, written and read by Rye Barcott.From a U.S. Marine and co-founder of With Honor, and written ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, comes the story of principled veterans who work across party lines to shape our nation and inspire us to serve with courage in our own lives.Featuring exclusive interviews with: *Mark Kelly * Dan Crenshaw * Mikie Sherrill * Wes Moore * Todd Young * Brian Fitzpatrick * Seth Moulton * John James * Don Bacon * Jared GoldenWhen most Americans think of acts of courage, elected office is rarely the first place they look. And while more Americans than ever reject party labels, the political arena remains dominated by the loudest voices at each extreme. This moment demands leaders willing to govern across party lines, resist the incentives of modern politics, and choose courage over outrage.One group is uniquely suited to meet that challenge: America’s veterans. Courage Can Save Us follows nine veterans and a former FBI agent—five Democrats and five Republicans—who have carried the ethic of service from the battlefield into public life. Ambitious and altruistic, forthright and flawed, they confront the moral and personal costs of leadership in an unsettled age: public attacks, private doubt, and the risk of losing everything they have worked for in service of the common good.More than a collection of political profiles, Courage Can Save Us is a portrait of a bipartisan generation of post-9/11 leaders striving to rise above polarization and a culture of contempt. It is an examination of courage in its many forms—and a challenge to all of us to consider how courage can strengthen our democracy, and our own lives.
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