The heroes in these pages have been cancelled by politically motivated academics—but they’re still the pathfinders we need.

Our boys and young men are told to sit submissively in rows of desks, so they can be conditioned for lives spent in cubicles or on assembly lines, with no real heroes to admire. No, fret today’s politically motivated academics—the truth about the men in this book might give our young men bold ideas. All the daring things these adventurers did and the mistakes they made are dangerous ammunition for growing minds.

So, the committees that write our textbooks hollow out a few uninspiring caricatures and leave the rest out of our modern books altogether; meanwhile, those who were not perfect by today’s standards are purged from the record.

Nonsense. We deserve the truth. And we’re made stronger by really knowing who these heroes were and what they did.

These are the tales of twenty men who broke the mold—courageously, imperfectly, and inspirationally. Their lives are a treasure map that can lead the young men of today to realize their dreams.