This stirring anthology features addresses by Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama, César Chávez, and many others.
What has happened to the 'art' of speech-writing & speech making? Where are the men & women whose words set the hearts of populations racing with passion? This is a book that should be required reading, it contains 14 key speeches of the 20th century introduced by prominent figures.
Presents sixty-one historically important speeches by prominent 20th century American figures in politics, government, sports, civil rights, the women's movement, the armed forces, and the space program. Includes seven speeches by world leaders such as King Edward VIII, Winston Churchill, and Adolph Hitler.
Remarkable for their eloquence, depth of feeling, and oratorical mastery, these 82 compelling speeches encompass five centuries of Indian encounters with nonindigenous people. Beginning with a 1540 refusal by a Timucua chief to parley with Hernando de Soto ("With such a people I want no peace"), the collection extends to the 20th-century address of activist Russell Means to the United Nations affiliates and members of the Human Rights Commission ("We are people who love in the belly of the monster"). Other memorable orations include Powhatan's "Why should you destroy us, who have provided you with food?" (1609); Red Jacket's "We like our religion, and do not want another" (1811); Osceola's "I love my home, and will not go from it" (1834); Red Cloud's "The Great Spirit made us both" (1870); Chief Joseph's "I will fight no more forever" (1877); Sitting Bull's "The life my people want is a life of freedom" (1882); and many more. Other notable speakers represented here include Tecumseh, Seattle, Geronimo, and Crazy Horse, as well as many lesser-known leaders. Graced by forceful metaphors and vivid imagery expressing emotions that range from the utmost indignation to the deepest sorrow, these addresses are deeply moving documents that offer a window into the hearts and minds of Native Americans as they struggled against the overwhelming tide of European and American encroachment. This inexpensive edition, with informative notes about each speech and orator, will prove indispensable to anyone interested in Native American history and culture.
Whether it was Churchill rousing the British to take up arms or the dream of Martin Luther King, Fidel Castro inspiring the Cuban revolution or Barack Obama on Selma and the meaning of America, speeches have profoundly influenced the way we see ourselves and society. Gathered here are some of the most extraordinary and memorable speeches of the last century. Some are well known, others less so, but all helped form the world we now inhabit. 'Time and again, MacArthur satisfies the reader's expectations. They are all here: Lloyd George's fit country for heroes, Woodrow Wilson's world made safe for democracy, Enoch Powell's River Tiber foaming with much blood' The Times Literary Supplement 'It would be hard to do better than MacArthur's selection, which is a tribute to the breadth of his knowledge' The Times
As the country wades into the hotly contested 2008 presidential election season, we look to the candidates' public pronouncements to gain an understanding of their platforms and to get a sense of the political direction our country might take over the course of the next four years. Presidential campaign oratory has always inspired and incited voters. In this collection of 27 pivotal campaign speeches, Michael Cohen helps bring to life the speeches that defined and dramatized American politics over the last century. From FDR's pledge for a "New Deal" to Nixon's legendary "Checkers" speech, from Dan Quayle's attack on Murphy Brown to select speeches from this year's presidential race, the "stump" speech has been the primary vehicle for candidates to share their political ambitions and ideals with the American people. With supporting essays that set the scene and provide the appropriate context for understanding what was said, how it was said, and why, Live from the Campaign Trail illustrates how campaign speeches have fundamentally shaped the way we think about American politics.
Boldly breaking the mold of previous anthologies, Words of a Century: The Top 100 American Speeches, 1900-1999 contains the complete--and authentic--texts of the best American speeches of the twentieth century as delivered to their immediate audiences. It features a remarkable array of speakers, from Woodrow Wilson, Clarence Darrow, and Carrie Chapman Catt to Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and Barbara Jordan. As diverse in type as they are in subject matter, the speeches open a unique window on the twentieth century, and many continue to resonate in our own time. Each is preceded by a headnote with background on the speaker, the occasion, and the impact of the speech. More than 2,000 annotations identify people, events, and textual references that help bring the speeches to life for today's readers. This exceptional anthology is ideal for courses in rhetoric, political communication, and twentieth century American history, as well as for anyone interested in the artistry and impact of the spoken word.
From the time he arrived on the political scene in 1964 – throughout his presidency and beyond, Ronald Reagan – used his speeches to inspire and reinvigorate America. When he spoke, Reagan, said, he was “preaching a sermon.” The American people saw his vision of America and his dreams for the future and they overwhelmingly responded; he was re-elected in 984 by the largest number of electoral votes in the nation’s history. Here in this collection of twenty-eight speeches spanning the Reagan era, readers can find inspiration in Reagan’s “sermons.” From his first speech in the political arena in 1964 to his Last Letter to America, informing Americans of his Alzheimer’s disease, Ronald Regan’s words show a profound belief in God, freedom, individualism, limited government, and his great love for his country. In addition to an introduction by Reagan’s son, Michael Reagan, each speech features an informative introduction which puts the speech into historical context, making The Last Best Hope the perfect entrée into the influence of one of the major figures of the 20th century.
"Say It Plain is a vivid, moving portrait of how black Americans have sounded the charge against injustice, exhorting the country to live up to its democratic principles. In "full-throated public oratory, the kind that can stir the soul" (Minneapolis Star Tribune), this unique anthology collects the transcribed speeches of the twentieth century's leading African American cultural, literary, and political figures, many of them never before available in printed form. From an 1895 speech by Booker T. Washington to Julian Bond's harp assessment of school segregation on the fiftieth anniversary of Brown v. Board in 2004, the collection captures a powerful tradition of oratory-by political activists, civil rights organizers, celebrities, and religious leaders-going back more than a century. The paperback edition includes the text of each speech along with an introduction placing it in its historical context. Say It Plain is a remarkable historical record- from the back-to-Africa movement to the civil rights era and the rise of black nationalism and beyond-riveting in its power to convey the black freedom struggle."
This inexpensive compilation of the great abolitionist's speeches includes "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" (1852), "The Church and Prejudice" (1841), and "Self-Made Men" (1859).