History's Greatest Speeches (Dover Thrift Editions: Speeches/Quotations)

I teach a speech class to college freshmen, and they love the speeches in this book. In addition to some of the well known classics like the funeral oration of Pericles and Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" speech, there are some neglected gems in here. Check out Susan B. Anthony's "On Behalf of the Woman Suffrage Amendment" in which she argues we do NOT need an amendment granting women the right to vote. (Her argument: women should have the right to vote even without the amendment.) Similarly, Theodore Roosevelt's "Duties of American Citizenship" seems just as relevant today as when he first gave it in 1883. The book does rely heavily on speeches from the U.S., and some of the selections are questionable, but this is a great value for the price.

The book focuses on American and western oratory. Mother Teresa and Winston Churchill being the exceptions. Not a bad place to start, but certainly not an exhaustive survey of the worlds oratory. Very few novel surprises in the list.

It is a good collection and worth reading for a student of rhetoric, however it is mostly a selection of American speakers.in this regard I will Title it as "History's greatest speeches in the American or western context"Saleem Sheikh

Great product reasonable price

Nice

In short...if one truly listens and cares about life over history of the spoken word, this little book is for you. A gem.

Great collection

Good reference material