Word: valorous
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Oddly enough, it is this very flaw that enhances the credibility of Red Storm Rising. World War III, by most postulates, is not likely to involve a grand Tolstoyan sweep of personal valor. Arsenals and tactics might indeed be set in motion by the frailties of flesh-and-blood players, but once launched the lethal machines would take on a life of their own--almost like characters in a novel. That possibility, vividly rendered, is what gives Clancy's book such a chilling ring of truth...
Flashman and the Dragon, eighth in the series of Flashman adventures and one of the saltiest, immerses him in the Taiping Rebellion, a nominally Christian uprising that lasted 14 years and resulted in some 20 million deaths. Based on a reputation for valor, acquired by stumbling into dangerous places at well-publicized times, the intrepid Flashman becomes Britain's semiofficial envoy to the revolutionaries. His escapades, both military and carnal, bring verve and wit to a carefully footnoted tale. Young Tom Brown was certainly more the gentleman, but he could not possibly have grown up to be so much...
...occasion for lavish and indiscriminate bestowing of moral awards. A true conservative mind devoted to careful thought and pensive reflection would not offer such rash laud as did the President. No doubt, war has throughout history inspired in many individuals some of the noblest of moral traits: courage, loyalty, valor, honor, selflessness. These are not the traits embodied by the Contras, an outfit supported not only by the United States but by cocaine smuggling as well...
...moment, even the truth seemed unsavory. Pinning a medal on some public servant's chest mainly for his attending a Harvard party seemed the height of hubris. Medals are usually reserved for extraordinary accomplishments, like winning a marathon, furthering world peace, or failing that, demonstrating uncommon valor on the battlefield...
...create, in contemporary context, the medieval quest. In A Catskill Eagle, his hard-boiled detective, Spenser, vows to rescue a maiden imprisoned in a tower. But the modern world, with its complexities ranging from feminism to the military- industrial complex, has all but nullified the chance for such straightforward valor. The "maiden" is Spenser's estranged girlfriend, Susan Silverman; her supposed captor is Spenser's rival for her love; her disappearance may in fact be voluntary; her guards are also employees of an unscrupulous international arms dealer; the macho Spenser must rely on help from a lesbian journalist...