Beautiful Souls: The Courage and Conscience of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times

If you see someone in your household committing a crime and do nothing to stop that person, you are held accountable for the crimes of the entire household. He who stands idly by and allows something to happen is as if he is guilty. -the sages of the TALMUDTo borrow the hackneyed opening words of (too) many movie trailers...in a world where heroes are hard to find, Eyal Press gives us some. BEAUTIFUL SOULS tells the stories of several ordinary persons who perform extraordinary acts of heroism. They risk their careers, their relationships, their personal safety, their very lives. They do so not because they are ordered to do so. They do so not for personal gain or public recognition. They do so not because they are saving loved ones or friends. They do so for the simple reason that it is the right thing to do.These individuals gave meaning to the words attributed to Albert Einstein: “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”Press met these uncommon individuals and their family members (or descendants for the one no longer living). He wanted to learn as much as he could about them. What was it in their lives, their upbringings, their characters that provided them the courage to put so much at risk when they had nothing to gain and no vested interest in the outcome?Press reveals the heroism of four people. The first profile is of a Swiss police commander in 1938 who defied orders to secure the border and prevent the “Jewification” of the country — the steady stream of refugees into Switzerland from Austria after Hitler's annexation of the country. Swiss officials discovered his actions. The policeman lost his job and faced criminal prosecution and public opprobrium. He was accused of only saving the Jews for financial reward or even sexual favors. All the accusations proved false.The second story is about a Serb who saved dozens of Croats from brutal beatings or extermination during the Croatian War of Independence in the early 1990s. After the Croatian town of Vukovar fell to the Serbs, the Serbs rounded up all the men and ethnically cleansed them to Serbia. There, in a cowshed, the Serbs committed atrocities. The problem was that there were Serb men included in the group of prisoners. The depraved Serb captors did not know how to distinguish their fellow Serbs from the Croats. Coming from the same ethnic roots, they are physically indistinguishable. Our hero, who knew most of his fellow Vukovarians, was directed to wade through the captives and identify the Serbs. These men would be spared. Rather than limiting his selection to Serbs, he identified many Croats as Serbs, saving them from the horrific fate meted out to the Croats and risking his own life.The third person is a member of Israel's most elite commando unit — the same unit that rescued the captives at Entebbe and successfully performed many other “impossible missions”. All his life, this young man wanted to serve in these forces. He loved Israel and its army. But those loves did not obviate his conscience, his morality, his humanity. When he learned firsthand how Israel implemented its occupation of Palestinian land and how it oppressed the Palestinian people, he was devastated. His life changed forever. He recognized that Israel's claim ad nauseam to have “the most moral army in the world” was a lie. Israel Defense Forces officers ordered soldiers to commit highly immoral and, in fact, illegal acts on a regular basis.This hero, despite his love of the IDF, could not stand by and permit the criminality to continue. He and other IDF veterans with similar values along with former Palestinian fighters formed Combatants for Peace. Their goal was and remains to promote reconciliation and dialogue between the two sides.In Israel, the army is not only a family, it is one of the few institutions that is respected, indeed held sacred. Employment, advancement, contacts, residential community, relationships, so much of the important aspects of daily life are determined by one's military service. To oppose the army is to put everything at risk. Individuals seeking peace, human rights for Palestinians and the end of the occupation are held in contempt.Press shows that Israel does not have “the most moral army in the world”. But it now has some of the most moral soldiers in the world.The fourth individual profiled by Press is a whistleblower. This hero became aware that her employer, a staggeringly successful financial institution, was running an enormous Ponzi scheme. It was destroying the life savings of thousands of hard-working men and women, imperiling the futures of families. Despite her being a highly-paid investment advisor at the firm, she blew the whistle on the company. It turned out that her employer had been running a seven billion dollar scam, a Ponzi scheme second in size only to Bernard Madoff's.In addition to relating these accounts of uncommon personal courage, Press intersperses stories of individuals from history who dared separate themselves from groupthink and who took actions endangering themselves. He describes studies of authoritarianism and of “the only-following-orders” mentality and analyses of the nature of individualism at personal risk. Press incorporates descriptions of the famous Milgram experiments, Christopher Browning's examination of a German battalion of “ordinary men” who became slaughterers of Jews and other studies.Press also describes the repercussions for those who not only step away, but who combat oppression and crime. He explains what is the price of saying “no” and of attempting to stop the evil. It is not an uplifting story. Far too frequently, there is not a happy ending. The rewards for heroes are often nonexistent, the penalties and loss immense.BEAUTIFUL SOULS is a deeply moving, powerful, incisive, sensitive and important book. Nazi Germany historian Ian Kershaw wrote, “The road to Auschwitz was built by hate, but paved with indifference.”Eyal Press describes those who are not indifferent and what makes them tick — what it takes to muster that courage. Although one comes away with a degree of sadness because of society's response to moral heroism, one is left with awe and gratitude for those individuals who raise all of humanity by their actions.

I read this book in a class on Moral Leadership. I liked it - the author, a journalist, is definitely a better writer than your average academic. The stories in the book are framed by research and "big ideas". That being said, I think a lot of people would read it and mostly walk away with 4 stories; the big ideas might be harder to connect. Which is fine, narrative is far more memorable than research, psychology, history, and such. And maybe just reading 4 inspiring stories is all most people want to get out of it.On the other hand, I felt the big ideas were important. Because they weren't just "inspiring stories". You can tell Eyal did his research. And I loved how he developed the stories within the structure of those big ideas. For example, you read the story and think you get it. Then he tries to delve into motive, talks about the more academic ideas of why someone would do such a thing, and then returns to the story. Except, those academic ideas don't hold up - at least in this story, they don't explain the motive, and Eyal shows you why by giving you more information about the story. Then he returns to the theories of motives and finds another one, then back to the story to check it out. Eventually you do get "answers". But each return gives you more depth into the story, more information. But I think that's also why it's easy to get caught up in the story and forget that he's structuring a cogent argument.Eyal Press came and spoke with our class (thank you professor!). He answered questions and discussed the book for 2 hours. But two things were very clear after speaking with him that I felt were not clear reading the book. First, he intentionally started far back in time (WWII) and brought the stories closer to the present. He wanted to bring these people out of the realm of "heroes" and into the mundane - to make them "real". It also served to emphasize that "heroes" are often rejected until history looks back on them. I appreciated that, but hadn't noticed it while reading. Second, they're not "inspiring" stories. In fact, Eyal suggested that what he realized was that they all paid a price, often for the rest of their lives / career, and their actions are futile unless others follow. That was a somber thought. It's easy to say, "Look, this person made a difference! We should follow her example!" But the truth is, people look at them and say, "They're crazy!" And they often live out their lives isolated and rejected - unless they have a strong community that backs them up. This definitely wasn't the idealism of "One person can change the world!"Overall, it gives a realistic look at how hard it is to go against society pressure, to say no to the way things are or to authority. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I give it only 4 stars, because I felt there were a few main points that didn't click for me until talking with the author. Maybe that's my fault. But I feel some of the "big ideas" are easy to lose in the details. And as much as I appreciate the artistic interweaving, I've also come to believe that great writing gets the big ideas across clearly. Maybe I'll read it again next year and change my review. Until then, decide for yourself. Absolutely worth your time!

An extremely fascinating, impressive book that really touched me. It's about individuals who in many ways seem to be very normal but who at a crucial moment in their lives showed incredible courage and compassion. I found reading this book very inspiring and would recommend everyone to read it.

A very thorough book on the morals and ethics of whistleblowers and why so few people actually turn against the people in power and the occupations where morals and ethics are constantly challenged. An important book worth reading.

Innovador en sus planteamientos con la ventaja de las entrevistas personales con algunos de los protagonistas del libro. Excelente introducción

Through cleverly chosen case studies, the book touches deep ethical issues in clear prose, a combination that is seldom found.