Society of Timid Souls (eBook)

Morland approaches her subject with energy, tenacious curiosity and, however much she may protest that she is lily-livered, courage ... a bracing, moving and uncommon book

Humans - from the Bronze Age onwards, when we first start to set down ideas about ourselves - have long asked, 'What is it to be brave?' With originality, wit, and no little gumption, Polly Morland pursues this same question. Thanks to hundreds of sensitive, face to face interviews, her paean to timidity - as well as to bravery - is salutatory and moving. This work reminds us that bravery and courage can be a gift of others, and not something that we struggle for alone

Well worth reading

This fascinating exploration of what it means to be brave - when your natural inclination is to cower, or flee - is a moving testament to mankind's capacity to face danger in pursuit of a greater good. Those who shudder at the wraiths and hazards on the darkening horizon will draw consolation, and courage, from Polly Morland's conclusions.

A dazzling synthesis of reportage, moral philosophy and memoir, Polly Morland's anatomy of courage moves effortlessly from the bullring and the battlefield to the concert hall and the maternity ward. Searching, startling and richly humane, this is the kind of book that reads you as you read it. A great achievement

What makes the book so interesting is that Morland is not remotely mawkish. Her tone is bracing while her book is part self-help guide, part moral philosophy ... even the most timid of us, she shows, can be helped to overcome our fears

An eccentric, hugely likeable debut

Using her documentarian's eye, Polly Morland has written a moving and deeply personal book; an examination of courage brimming with humanity

Compelling ... an appealing and original account of one of the greatest human virtues, full of powerful stories. It leaves you hopeful

We all have a private definition of courage, which (I've concluded) we take to be universal; but as Polly Morland shows, there are all kinds of courage, and no necessary agreement on what it means. It's one of those books which encourages a reader to think again: always a good thing, in my view

Polly Morland's voice is warm yet very smart, and she's collected some cracking good stories

Morland's philosophical, extremely well-written book suggests that while some people are obviously wired to relish dangerous lives, the timid rest of us may be braver than we think