Hard Call Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them

In Hard Call, acclaimed authors John McCain and Mark Salter describe theanatomy of great decisions in history by telling the remarkable stories ofmen and women who have exemplified composure, wisdom, and intellect in theface of life's toughest decisions.The authors identify six qualities typically represented in thebest decisions:Awareness.Timing.Foresight. Confidence.Humility. Inspiration.These qualities are personified by the exceptionalindividuals in this book, each of whom made a hard call:Branch Rickey's awareness of the opposition he would face inintegrating the Brooklyn Dodgers, and his sagacity in choosing the rightman, Jackie Robinson, to break baseball's color barrier.Winston Churchill's foresight in preparing England's Navy forwar.Anwar Sadat's and Menachem Begin's timing in choosing to risktheir lives and political careers by seeking peace in the aftermath ofwar.Gertrude Ederle's confidence in deciding to swim the EnglishChannel - and her fortitude in continuing the quest against the wishes ofher coach, despite the fact that no woman had ever succeeded.Reinhold Niebuhr's humility in deciding to abandon his pacifistviews and endorse the use of violence against persecution in Nazi Germanyand the Soviet Union.Abraham Lincoln's historic act of inspiration: His decision toissue the Emancipation Proclamation, the role of faith in his life, and hiswillingness to suffer for a cause greater than himself. Woven into these stories are John McCain's own views on theprocess and art of decision-making and examples of the hard calls we facein our lives. "When I assess a decision," McCain writes, "I want to knowall I can about the character of the decision maker before I examine theproperties of the decision, its outcome or how it was arrived at." Hard Call is a testament to the people whose choices serve as a beacon forus all.

John McCain was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 and was named one of America's ten best Senators by Time magazine in 2006. During his military career he received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart, and a Distinguished Flying Cross. He and his wife, Cindy, live in Phoenix, Arizona.