Character Is Destiny

{{Infobox book

| name = Character Is Destiny

| title_orig =

| translator =

| image = Character Is Destiny.jpg

| caption =

| author = John McCain, Mark Salter

| illustrator =

| cover_artist =

| country = United States

| language = English

| series =

| subject = Political convictions

| genre =

| publisher = Random House

| release_date = 2005 (hardcover)
2006 (paperback)

| english_release_date =

| media_type = Print (hardcover, paperback)

| pages =

| isbn = 1-4000-6412-0

| dewey = 170/.44 22

| congress = BJ1521 .M33 2005

| oclc = 61253961

| preceded_by = Why Courage Matters

| followed_by = Hard Call

}}

Character Is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember is a 2005 book by United States Senator John McCain with Mark Salter. Published by Random House, it is a collection of biographies about individuals from the past and present who, in the authors' view, exemplify the best qualities of character. The book is divided into seven parts with further divisions of a characteristic and a person who is seen to exemplify it.

Introductory notes

In McCain's words from the book's introduction:

{{cquote|It is your character, and your character alone, that will make your life happy or unhappy. That is all that really passes for destiny. And you choose it. No one else can give it to you or deny it to you. No rival can steal it from you. And no friend can give it to you. Others can encourage you to make the right choices or discourage you. But you choose.}}

Sections

Each section provides examples of a specific characteristic, with essays on a well known person, historical or (then) living, whose life reflected a particular aspect of that characteristic.{{cite book |title=Character Is Destiny |first1=John |last1=McCain |first2=Mark |last2=Salter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xG1DSSpRmKIC&q=introduction |page=viii |section=Contents |publisher=Random House |isbn=1-4000-6412-0 |date=2005 |access-date=2020-10-31 |via=Google Books}}

=Part One: Honor=

HONESTY — Thomas More
RESPECT — Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
AUTHENTICITY — Joan of Arc
LOYALTY — Sir Ernest Shackleton
DIGNITY — Viktor Frankl

=Part Two: Purpose=

IDEALISM — Sojourner Truth
RIGHTEOUSNESS — Roméo Dallaire
CITIZENSHIP — Pat Tillman
DILIGENCE — Winston Churchill
RESPONSIBILITY — Lord Nelson and His Lieutenants
COOPERATION — John Wooden

=Part Three: Strength=

COURAGE — Edith Cavell
SELF-CONTROL — George Washington
CONFIDENCE — Elizabeth I
RESILIENCE — Abraham Lincoln
INDUSTRY — Eric Hoffer
HOPEFULNESS — John Winthrop

=Part Four: Understanding=

FAITH — Christian Guard at Hua Lo Prison
COMPASSION — Maximillian Kolbe
MERCY — Mother Antonia
TOLERANCE — The Four Chaplains
FORGIVENESS — Nelson Mandela
GENEROSITY — Oseola McCarty

=Part Five: Judgment=

FAIRNESS — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
HUMILITY — Dwight D. Eisenhower
GRATITUDE — Tecumseh
HUMOR — Mark Twain
COURTESY — Aung San Suu Kyi

=Part Six: Creativity=

ASPIRATION — Ferdinand Magellan
DISCERNMENT — Leonardo da Vinci
CURIOSITY — Charles Darwin
ENTHUSIASM — Theodore Roosevelt
EXCELLENCE — Wilma Rudolph

=Part Seven: Love=

SELFLESSNESS AND CONTENTMENT — Mother Teresa

Editions

McCain, John. Character Is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember. New York: Random House, 2005. Print.