Courage Can Save US
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.
Available June 9, 2026
All proceeds go to With Honor
Early Acclaim
“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 9 veterans and an FBI agent—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.”
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, author of Leadership: In Turbulent Times
“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.”
National Book Award finalist and author of 2034 and Sheepdogs
“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.”
author of Matterhorn and What It Is Like to Go to War
“Rye Barcott’s spectacular book on Courage 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.”
author of True North and former CEO of Medtronic
“Rye Barcott has written the book his country needs at this moment. I thought I knew about some of the public figures he portrays here. But page by page, Courage Can Save US keeps delivering surprises—and encouragement, which makes good on the promise of its title. You’ll be glad to have read it.”
author of 11 books and recipient of National Book Award
“This is the Profiles in Courage for the 21st century, written by a decorated Marine veteran who has served his country since he was eighteen. The ten Americans Rye Barcott features in the book join forces out of the shared belief that this is the greatest country in the world, and that we are never stronger than when Americans work together instead of tearing each other apart. And I cannot imagine a more honorable and, indeed, courageous author to write this absolutely captivating and urgently needed book than Rye Barcott.”
New York Times bestselling author of Letters of a Nation, War Letters, and Behind the Lines
About the Author
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