You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
"A collection of encyclopedia-styled essays on 58 leading political, social, and religious speakers, American Orators of the Twentieth Century fills an enormous void in the literature on American public address. . . . Each assesses the orator's impact on American life and delineates such aspects of his or her speaking as argumentation, style, persuasive techniques, delivery, and methods of speech preparation. Appended to each essay is a chronology of the orator's major speeches and a list of information sources that includes leading research collections, speech anthologies, critical studies, and biographies. Given the large number of contributors, the entries are remarkably even in coverage ...
In this flavorful and perceptive study of the American orator, Barnet Baskerville makes an inquiry into American attitudes toward orators and oratory and the reflection of these attitudes in speaking practices. He examines the role of the orator in society and the kinds or qualities of oratory that were dominant in each period of American history, and he looks into the nature and importance of oratory as perceived by audiences and by speakers themselves. By examining this "public image" of the orator, the author is able to tell us much about the people who drew that image.
Contemporary public speaking remains an important part of our national life and a substantial force in shaping current events. Many of America's most important moments and issues, such as wars, scandals, election campaigns, September 11, 2001, have been defined by oratory. Here, over 50 essays cover a substantial and interesting group of major American social, political, economic, and cultural figures from the 1960s to the present. Each entry explains the biographical forces that shaped a speaker and his or her rhetorical approach, focuses mainly on a discussion of the orator's major speeches within the context of historical events, and concludes with an appraisal of the speaker and his or h...