It Doesn't Take A Hero

"It Doesn't Take A Hero" is the remarkable autobiography of H. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of US and Allied forces during the 1st gulf war .

This is probably one of the longest books I've ever read, almost 600 pages long and in fine print. Not sure why I got hooked. Maybe because it felt like I was reading a novel, I don't know.

I've never been a history buff but this gave me a direct, first hand look at major events: Vietnam War, Invasion of Grenada, Dessert Storm and to some extent the Korean War, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Cold War, and other smaller conflicts but with major world repercussions, and seeing it from the eyes of someone who was actually in the middle of it.

He truly lived and is still living (I'm sure) an interesting and fulfilling life. His ideals are so defined: family, honor, duty, honesty, service to country, loyalty and leadership. I'm starting to wonder, what are my mine? What are some of the unbreakable life principles that should be governing my life? What are the standards by which I should be measuring myself?

So many thoughts about this book.

"It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle." - General Norman Schwarzkopf