Michael Phelps Gave Teammate a Chance for Glory

Michael Phelps had already won five gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics. He seemed certain to secure one more in the 4 x 400 medley relay. Phelp's ...

Gleaming Concert Hall Overpowers Neighbors

You expect a $274 million building to shine and L.A.'s new Walt Disney Concert Hall does. Frank Gehry's landmark creation of shimmering stainless ...

Glorified Julius Caesar Remembered His Humanity

When Julius Caesar returned to Rome after many years of fighting its battles abroad, he planned great festivities and triumphal processions to celebrate ...

Francis of Assisi's Disastrous Grasp at Glory

On a brisk November day in 1202, Assisi's militia marched through the city's streets. Knights sat proudly atop their steeds, citizens cheered, ...

Overlooked WWII Soldier Doesn't Worry About Getting Credit

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Commander Joe Rochefort broke Japanese communication codes. Stationed at an intelligence base in Oahu, he predicted ...

Billy Joel's Unmet Need

Musician Billy Joel has won many awards, including Male Artist of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year. Joel recorded ...

Philip Yancey on Endurance

Philip Yancey tells of a letter he received from a friend whose daughter, Peggie, was terminally ill. The mother wrote:

The weekend before she went into ...

Companionship of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan

On the advice of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, the parents of Helen Keller sent for a teacher from the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts. ...

Hidden, Humble Servants

In The Seven Storey Mountain, Thomas Merton comments that good people are usually hidden. I'm convinced he's right.

What convinced me was a woman ...

Football Grunts Honored for Humble Service

"If you work hard, good things will happen…to someone else."

So goes the motto of the All-Joes Team. Each year USA Today honors overlooked and ...