Books About Immense Character and Integrity

September 22, 2010 9:09 PM

Suggestions for nonfiction books about people with immense character and integrity?

I'm just really curious about reading books about people that always do the right thing no matter what. I can't think of a better way to put that, I'm sure people will know what I mean =D
Thanks!

posted by CZMR to Writing & Language (16 answers total)

The autobiography of Miep Gies, who hid Anne Frank and her family during World War II, might be what you're looking for.
posted by mynameisluka at 9:18 PM on September 22, 2010

"At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, world-class Robin Hood, Farmer was brought up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life’s calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. This magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a meaningful life can be created, as Farmer—brilliant, charismatic, charming, both a leader in international health and a doctor who finds time to make house calls in Boston and the mountains of Haiti—blasts through convention to get results."

Awesome book by Tracy Kidder. You just reminded me to read it again.
posted by Buffaload at 9:22 PM on September 22, 2010

The Gregory Hays translation of The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Seriously.
posted by joe lisboa at 9:45 PM on September 22, 2010

I don't know that there is anyone that always does the right thing no matter what.

But if you enjoy biographies of people of character and integrity, I can recommend:

The Life of Mahatma Gandhi, by Louis Fischer
Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela
Disturbing the Universe, by Freeman Dyson

I've learned a good deal from all of these.
posted by philipy at 9:48 PM on September 22, 2010 [3 favorites]

Parting the Waters : America in the King Years 1954-63 Taylor Branch.

The actions of the true believers in non-violence as a force for change in the face of relentless hate and violence, and the man who led them.
posted by pianomover at 11:06 PM on September 22, 2010

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen about building schools in Afghanistan.
posted by Anitanola at 11:15 PM on September 22, 2010

Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela
The Gulag Archipelago, Alexander Solzhenytsin
If This is a Man, Primo Levi
posted by smoke at 11:58 PM on September 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

Captain Scott by Sir Ranulph Fiennes.*

*'immense character and integrity' - check
'always do the right thing no matter what' - debatable but still a worthy read IMHO.
posted by numberstation at 1:46 AM on September 23, 2010

Maybe Richard Feynmann - I'm always impressed by What Do You Care What Other People Think? - especially the parts about the investigation into the shuttle disaster.

He's not Nelson Mandela, but he does have a tremendous sense of integrity of purpose in the pursuit of knowledge.
posted by crocomancer at 4:10 AM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]

Can it be fiction? Athos of The Three Musketeers was rigidly moral.
posted by prefpara at 5:00 AM on September 23, 2010

'South' by E. Shackleton. And some advice: the more you read on anyone, the more failings you will encounter. Learn to quit while the inspiration lingers or adjust your expectations from always to often (or even just once).
posted by eccnineten at 7:48 AM on September 23, 2010

I don't know about "always doing the right thing no matter what" in later life, but Ernest Shackleton did some pretty amazing stuff to ensure that not one man on his failed Antarctic expedition died.

He was less a saint, and more a hero; but I feel that he showed "immense character and integrity."
posted by richyoung at 7:53 AM on September 23, 2010

While I would never dissuade anyone from reading about Gandhi, he might not strictly qualify as "always doing the right thing no matter what". Get it from the horses mouth, his autobiography. Not a perfect man by anyone's standards, but a fascinating and inspiring one.
posted by elendil71 at 9:40 AM on September 23, 2010

@elendil71... As I suggested... I doubt any one qualifies as "always doing the right thing no matter what."

That's not how real human beings are, even the very best ones.
posted by philipy at 12:27 PM on September 23, 2010

Hero Found, The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War. That is Dieter Dengler. Written by Bruce Henderson.
posted by KneeDeep at 5:08 PM on September 23, 2010

Apologies for adding another fictional character: Rorschach in Watchmen. That guy has integrity and always does the right thing (as he sees it). Just shows you can have too much of a good thing.
posted by crocomancer at 8:16 AM on September 24, 2010