Sir Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln Presiding – Just Two of The Gents Featured Below.

Hello Friends,
It is with great enthusiasm that I write to you on this misty Thursday morning from Minneapolis.  Tiny bulbs are beginning to push their way through the soil in Loring Park, threatening impending splendor.  Despite the looming clouds and pre-April showers, Spring has arrived!

Before the big reveal, a few disclaimers:

1. While this list (and In Praise of Men) is predominantly concerned with the past century, a handful of candidates date back to the 1800’s.  Their deeds continue to reverberate in our present, which is why they’ve been noted below.
2. Several of the names below won’t be familiar- some are only “famous” in the eyes of their neighbors, friends, families and/or immediate communities.
3.  You’ll likely wonder why several well-knowns are absent (Einstein, Dr. King, Bruce Lee, Steven Hawking, Dr. Seuss, etc.).  There are SO MANY MEN I’d love to add, but have chosen to focus on role models who debunk outdated myths about the opposite sex.

Thus: after years of collecting candidates (there were originally 120!), months of research, raging Facebook debates, a public poll and A LOT of private vetting, I humbly present…

50 MAGNIFICENT MEN

01. Abraham Lincoln
02. Alan Turing
03. Albert Schweitzer
04. TIE: Alexander Graham Bell & Elisha Gray
05. Arthur Janov
06. Barack Obama
07. Bernie Sanders
08. Chris Kluwe
09. Christopher Reeve
10. Clyde E. Ogle
11. Cochise
12. [14th] Dalai Lama
13. Davide Martello
14. Derek Sivers
15. Desmond Tutu
16. Dwayne Johnson
17. Frank Shankwitz
18. Fred (Mr.) Rogers
19. Henry Dunant
20. James “Jim” E. Sullivan
21. Jeffrey Gettleman
22. Jimmy Carter
23. TIE- The Kelly Brothers– Scott & Mark (Astronauts)
24. Kofi Annan
25. Kyle Carpenter
26. Levar Burton
27. Lewis Howard Latimer
28. Martin Prechtel
29. Michio Kaku
30. Neil Armstrong
31. Neil deGrasse Tyson
32. Neil Strauss
33. Nelson Mandela
34. Nikola Tesla
35. Paramahansa Yogananda
36. Paul Newman
37. Paul Wellstone
38. Peter Tatchell
39. Pope Francis
40. Richard Feynman
41. Robert Bly
42. Ronald Mallet
43. Robert O. Fisch 
44. Russell Means
45. Stuart Franklin
46:  TIE: Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith (Tears For Fears)
47. Theodore Roosevelt
48. TIE: Paul Hewson, David Howell Evans, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton (U2)
49. Wing Young Huie
50. Winston Churchill

Honorable mentions: William Gibson, Buckminister Fuller, Neil Gaiman, and anyone else who I may not yet be aware of that should be on this list.  We’re expanding the above for the in-print edition, so when the book arrives, I hope you’ll take time to read up on each of these gentlemen- especially the ones that you’re not familiar with.

With Love,
Brooke

PS: If there’s some sort of unscrupulous conduct by any of the above listed that I’ve somehow missed, please email me (brookercalder[at]gmail) ASAP, with subject header: URGENT- RE: 50 MAGNIFICENT MEN.