Cowardice – A Brief History

"With impressive insight and sensitivity, Chris Walsh holds up for careful examination one of war's last remaining taboos. That Cowardice simultaneously illuminates and discomfits is a mark of its success."--Andrew J. Bacevich, author of The Limits of Power and Breach of Trust

"We think we know the face of courage, but do we dare look into the face of fear? In Cowardice, Chris Walsh leads us on a journey from Dante's Inferno to Joseph Heller's Catch-22, with wide-ranging stops in between to examine this most taboo of emotions in life and literature. Sifting evidence from many disciplines, as well as accounts of desertions, derelictions, and courts-martial from more than three centuries, Walsh offers a nuanced and humane portrait of the feeling that may remind us most--and most uncomfortably--of our humanity."--Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life

"Thoughtful, penetrating, erudite, and gracefully written, Chris Walsh's analysis of cowardice sheds new light on an ancient and momentous human obsession."--Steven Pinker, author of How the Mind Works and The Better Angels of Our Nature

"There is a tough argument at the heart of this brilliant little book, but what will keep readers turning the pages is Walsh's astonishing resourcefulness as a reader (there is a surprise on almost every page) and the wisdom and lucidity of his style. Unexpected, unnerving in a way, yet wonderful."--Jack Miles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of God: A Biography

"This is a probing look at the role cowardice plays in life. Ranging widely through literature and history, Cowardice has a freshness that is at once stylistic and substantive. Walsh demonstrates the formidable presence of cowardice and the imagination and effort required to live courageously."--Eugene Goodheart, Brandeis University