Profiles in Audacity

Book excerpt: In brief vignettes, historian Axelrod pinpoints and investigates the make-or-break event in the lives and careers of some of history's most significant figures. Axelrod reexamines history by answering the fascinating question of why the people who made history made their choices--and conveys the resonance of those choices today. The 46 profiles range from ancient times to the present day and include Cleopatra's decision to rescue Egypt; Washington's decision to cross the Delaware and win; Gandhi's decision to prevail against the British Empire without bloodshed; Truman's decision to drop the A-bomb and end WW II; Rosa Parks' decision to sit in for civil rights; Boris Yeltsin's decision to embrace a new world order; and Flight 93's decision to take a stand against terror.--From publisher description.