"Refreshing, thanks to the richly evocative text shaped by co-writer Michael D'Orso, this story rings with the inspiring idealism of Frank Capra and the soaring patriotic rhetoric of Stephen Vincent Benet."
--The Los Angeles Times

"This largely unsung hero emerges from years as a destitute invalid ,with zest and without self-pity. The narrative is rich in portrayals of political figures, including the 'fearsome magnetism' of a ruthless George Wallace."
--Publishers Weekly

"Elliott, with the assistance of D'Orso, engagingly relates the affecting story of his rise from a dirt-poor childhood. A fine and absorbing memoir that captures the turbulent emotions surrounding the passage of the modern civil-rights acts."
--Kirkus Reviews

"A powerful book and interesting and troubling account of one decent man's efforts to effect change and do good in the face of frightening resistance."
--The Daily Press (Newport News, VA.)

"Touching --powerful-- alive with the author's integrity and tenacity."
--The State (Columbia, S.C.)

"Fascinating "
--The Birmingham Post-Herald

"Moving, at times painful, a great American story."
--The Huntsville News (Ala.)

"As the title says, Mr. Elliott fashioned himself an American congressman, not an Alabama congressman. His eyes were on the larger issues, such as education and equality."
--The Atlanta Journal/Constitution

"A deeply moving autobiography, a lasting, stirring legacy to the people of this country."
--The New Orleans Times Picayune

"The Cost of Courage is a healthy cut above the usual as-told-to journalism by virtue of the fact that co-author Michael D'Orso has captured Carl Elliott's voice, full of shrewd judgments and acute observations about the political world."
--Newson Posby, U of Cal. Berkley, in Congress & The Presidency: A Journal of Capital Studies

"Never in my life have I read a more interesting and fact-filled autobiography. It bears all the elements of a modern day political classic. Good writing, I've been told, is clear writing. There is not a speck of fog I could find in The Cost of Courage."
--Edgar A. Poe (Newhouse News Service)

"We Northerners truly did not appreciate the struggles and suffering that the Southerners like Carl Elliott went through. He inspired us all with his vision of the New South and a better America, and his leadership helped make them a reality. His story is a fascinating account of those challenging years."
--U.S. Rep. Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, Jr.

"This is a stirring account of a life that counts."
--Bill Moyers

"Carl Elliott's story is a profile in courage for our time. His story, told eloquently in these pages, is a fresh reminder that history has a human face, and that America is a better nation today because of leaders willing to stand up for what is right and speak out against injustice."
--U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy

"The Cost of Courage is a brilliant example of the beginnings of the race-based code issues in America of this era, this book is about the personal price one pays to support a principle larger than life itself."
--U.S. Sen. Howell Heflin