Of all the qualities with which mankind is endowed, none excites in us deeper admiration than courage. The stories comprising this book are dramatic examples of that kind of courage. They were gathered through years of roving the remote corners of earth, on behalf of The Reader's Digest, as part of that magazine's never-ending hunt for article subjects whose exploits on behalf of their fellows lift us out of ourselves and serve to remind us that we too can make our lives sublime.