Hard Call
First edition | |
| Author | John McCain, Mark Salter |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Political convictions |
| Publisher | Hachette Book Group USA |
Publication date | August 14, 2007 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback) |
| Pages | 480 |
| ISBN | 978-0-446-58040-3 |
| OCLC | 85892201 |
| 920 22 | |
| LC Class | CT105 .M395 2007 |
| Preceded by | Character Is Destiny |
| Followed by | Thirteen Soldiers: A Personal History of Americans at War |
Hard Call: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them is a book written by United States Senator John McCain with Mark Salter. Its theme is decision-making based on personal principles. The hardcover edition was released August 14, 2007, and the paperback edition was subsequently released on February 29, 2008.
McCain outlines a six-part structure for "hard calls," with several detailed anecdotes illustrating each of the six parts:
- Awareness: Jackie Robinson "intruding" into all-white baseball; and Wernher von Braun, the rocket scientist.
- Foresight: Winston Churchill; Alexander Graham Bell; and Ronald Reagan when standing up to the Soviet Union.
- Timing: Boeing's production of the commercial jet aircraft; Gillette's invention of the disposable razor; and Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin meeting for the peace process.
- Confidence: Civil War General George B. McClellan; Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel; and the Apollo 11 astronauts.
- Humility: The founding of Liberia; Harry Truman; and Gerald Ford's pardoning of Richard Nixon.
- Inspiration: The white commander of America's first black regiment; Alexander Solzhenitsyn; and Abraham Lincoln.