What makes some men and women take difficult decisions and do the right thing against the odds, when easier and far less dangerous alternatives are open to them? Why do some people have what Dostoevsky calls the courage to dare, when most of us feel pretty sure we wouldn't be able to match their daring? How did nurse Edith Cavell find the strength to run a wartime escape line and then face her executioners with such bravery? What inspired Nelson Mandela and gave him the determination to sustain a fifty year long war against apartheid. If real courage is not living without fear but mastering it, and deciding that a high ideal or great cause is far more important, then what leads some people to the extraordinary feats of bravery and self-sacrifice which inspire us all? Examining the lives of people who have shown great physical and moral courage, from Raoul Wallenberg and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to heroes of September 11th, from San Suu Kyi Aung to the anonymous heroes who make such a difference to our daily lives, this book shows that some common threads emerge amongst those who show the most courage, and some surprising differences.