Gordon Brown to publish book of 10 heroes to coincide with take-over

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Civil rights campaigners Martin Luther King will feature in the book

Gordon Brown is to give an extraordinary insight into the personalities that have shaped his political philosophy in a book paying homage to his ten greatest heroes.

The Daily Mail can reveal the names of the men and women that the Chancellor will eulogise in a deeply personal book expected to be published early next year.

One surprising inclusion is the American 9/11 hero Todd Beamer, who overpowered hijackers on Flight 93 and went to his death with the catchphrase "let's roll."

Mr Brown began writing his book "Courage of Heroes" back in 2001, but publishers Bloomsbury yesterday said they hope it will be released on 1 May 2007.

Sources close to the Chancellor said that all the figures featured in the book refused to "take the easy option" in the face of adversity and showed "great physical and moral courage."

Westminster observers are likely to draw parallels between the characters of the "heroes" and the Chancellor.

Many of the figures, like Scottish Protestant Mr Brown, have deeply religious backgrounds.

These include the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis after helping Jews escape during World War II, and the Scottish Olympic runner Eric Liddell, who later became a missionary in China.

The most famous names in the book are the civil rights campaigners Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy and Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner who has spent 10 of the last 17 years under house arrest at the hands of a military junta.

Seven of the influential figures are men. But alongside Aung San Suu Kyi, Mr Brown has picked two leading women in the world of medicine.

These are the British nurse Edith Cavell, who was executed by the Germans in 1915 for aiding Allied prisoners to escape, and the founder of the hospice movement Cicely Saunders.

Mr Brown was reported to have finished the book last summer, but a source at Bloomsbury said May 1st was the most likely release date.

The source said: "It isn't concrete, but they've been looking for a date for ages and that is what was discussed. They have been told it'd be good timing for him."

Many expect Tony Blair to resign around May's council elections - when Labour is widely expected to get a drubbing in the polls.

Mr Brown is the clear favourite to take over the leadership and is currently embarking on a campaign to promote himself as a Prime Minister-in waiting.

Courage of Heroes is currently being advertised on the internet, although it is not yet available to buy.

One synopsis says: "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?"

"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? Examining the lives of who have shown great physical and moral courage, from Raoul Wallenberg and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to heroes of 11 September, from Aung San Suu Kyi to the anonymous champions who make such a difference to our daily lives, Brown reveals common threads among those who show the most pluck, as well as some surprising differences."

Mr Brown's spokesman said: "The Chancellor has always been a great admirer of people who did not chose the easy option and who demonstrated courage and strength when others would have stayed silent and done nothing."

A spokeswoman for Bloomsbury said: "Gordon's book is on the system. We just haven't decided when to release it yet."

 

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