Brave Companions: Portraits in History
Encyclopedia
Brave Companions: Portraits in History is a 1992 book by American
historian
David McCullough
.
The book consists of previously published essays, most of which are biographical portraits of a specific historical figure or group of figures. It is divided into five sections.
"Journey to the Top of the World" is a portrait of German
scientist
and explorer Alexander von Humboldt
, with particular attention paid to the expedition to Latin America
he undertook in 1799-1804 with Aimé Bonpland
.
"The American Adventure of Louis Agassiz", about the 19th-century scientist and educator Louis Agassiz
, focuses on the latter part of his life when he became established in the United States
.
"The Unexpected Mrs. Stowe" is a biographical portrait of Harriet Beecher Stowe
, the author of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin
.
II. The Real West
"Glory Days in Medora" focuses on the town of Medora, North Dakota
and the people who inhabited the area in the 1880s, including Theodore Roosevelt
and the Marquis de Mores
.
"Remington" is a biographical portrait of the Western
artist
Frederic Remington
.
III. Pioneers
"Steam Road to El Dorado" is about the construction of the original Panama Railway
in the 1850s.
"The Builders" concerns the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge
in the 1870s, and particularly the life of engineer John A. Roebling
and his son, Washington Roebling
.
"The Treasure from the Carpentry Shop" concerns the rediscovery of the original plans for the Brooklyn Bridge in 1969.
"Long-Distance Vision" is about the experiences and literary works of several early aviator
s, including Charles Lindbergh
, Antoine de Saint Exupéry, and Beryl Markham
.
IV. Figures in a Landscape
In this section, McCullough profiles individuals he is acquainted with personally.
"Cross the Blue Mountain" is a portrait of American author
Conrad Richter
.
"The Lonely War of a Good Angry Man", written in 1969, concerns the destructive environmental impact of strip mining in eastern Kentucky
, and profiles Harry M. Caudill
, local author and anti-strip mining political activist.
"Miriam Rothschild" is about the English
zoologist and entomologist Miriam Rothschild
.
"South of Kankakee: A Day with David Plowden" is a profile of American photographer David Plowden
.
V. On We Go
"Washington on the Potomac" is a personal tribute to the city of Washington, DC, where McCullough lived for many years.
"Extraordinary Times", written in 1986, is a look back at the fifty years of world history since 1936.
"Recommended Itinerary" is an address McCullough gave to the 1986 graduating class of Middlebury College
, in which he urged graduates to travel abroad to gain a better appreciation of the United States, and to study history in order to gain a better appreciation of their own time.
"Simon Willard's Clock" is an essay concerning the history of the United States Congress
, in which McCullough writes that legislators must have a sense of their own institution's history.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
David McCullough
David McCullough
David Gaub McCullough is an American author, narrator, historian, and lecturer. He is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award....
.
The book consists of previously published essays, most of which are biographical portraits of a specific historical figure or group of figures. It is divided into five sections.
Contents
I. Phenomena"Journey to the Top of the World" is a portrait of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
and explorer Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
, with particular attention paid to the expedition to Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
he undertook in 1799-1804 with Aimé Bonpland
Aimé Bonpland
Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland was a French explorer and botanist.Bonpland's real name was Goujaud, and he was born in La Rochelle, a coastal city in France. After serving as a surgeon in the French army, and studying under J. N...
.
"The American Adventure of Louis Agassiz", about the 19th-century scientist and educator Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
, focuses on the latter part of his life when he became established in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
"The Unexpected Mrs. Stowe" is a biographical portrait of Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
, the author of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
.
II. The Real West
"Glory Days in Medora" focuses on the town of Medora, North Dakota
Medora, North Dakota
In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males...
and the people who inhabited the area in the 1880s, including Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and the Marquis de Mores
Marquis de Mores
Marquis de Morès was a famous duelist, frontier ranchman in the Badlands of Dakota Territory during the final years of the American Old West era, a railroad pioneer in Vietnam, and an anti-Semitic politician in his native France....
.
"Remington" is a biographical portrait of the Western
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Frederic Remington
Frederic Remington
Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S...
.
III. Pioneers
"Steam Road to El Dorado" is about the construction of the original Panama Railway
Panama Railway
The Panama Canal Railway Company is a railway line that links the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean across Panama in Central America. It is jointly owned by the Kansas City Southern Railway and Mi-Jack Products...
in the 1850s.
"The Builders" concerns the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
in the 1870s, and particularly the life of engineer John A. Roebling
John A. Roebling
John Augustus Roebling was a German-born American civil engineer. He is famous for his wire rope suspension bridge designs, in particular, the design of the Brooklyn Bridge.-Early life:...
and his son, Washington Roebling
Washington Roebling
Washington Augustus Roebling was an American civil engineer best known for his work on the Brooklyn Bridge, which was initially designed by his father John A. Roebling.-Education and military service:...
.
"The Treasure from the Carpentry Shop" concerns the rediscovery of the original plans for the Brooklyn Bridge in 1969.
"Long-Distance Vision" is about the experiences and literary works of several early aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
s, including Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
, Antoine de Saint Exupéry, and Beryl Markham
Beryl Markham
Beryl Markham was a British-born Kenyan aviatrix, adventurer, and racehorse trainer. During the pioneer days of aviation, she became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west...
.
IV. Figures in a Landscape
In this section, McCullough profiles individuals he is acquainted with personally.
"Cross the Blue Mountain" is a portrait of American author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Conrad Richter
Conrad Richter
Conrad Michael Richter was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist whose lyrical work focuses on life along the American frontier.-Biography:...
.
"The Lonely War of a Good Angry Man", written in 1969, concerns the destructive environmental impact of strip mining in eastern Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, and profiles Harry M. Caudill
Harry M. Caudill
Harry M. Caudill was an American author, historian, lawyer, legislator, and environmentalist from Letcher County, in the coalfields of southeastern Kentucky.-Biography:...
, local author and anti-strip mining political activist.
"Miriam Rothschild" is about the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
zoologist and entomologist Miriam Rothschild
Miriam Rothschild
Dame Miriam Louisa Rothschild DBE, FRS was a British natural scientist and author with contributions to zoology, entomology, and botany.-Early life:...
.
"South of Kankakee: A Day with David Plowden" is a profile of American photographer David Plowden
David Plowden
David Plowden , is an American photographer known for his historical documentary photography of urban cities, steam trains, American farmlands, and small towns....
.
V. On We Go
"Washington on the Potomac" is a personal tribute to the city of Washington, DC, where McCullough lived for many years.
"Extraordinary Times", written in 1986, is a look back at the fifty years of world history since 1936.
"Recommended Itinerary" is an address McCullough gave to the 1986 graduating class of Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
, in which he urged graduates to travel abroad to gain a better appreciation of the United States, and to study history in order to gain a better appreciation of their own time.
"Simon Willard's Clock" is an essay concerning the history of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, in which McCullough writes that legislators must have a sense of their own institution's history.
External links
- Review of Brave Companions on enotes.com