This is a solidly curated, well-edited selection of abridged political speeches of historical significance. The collection succeeds in being perhaps the least intimidating selection of political speeches ever compiled; the book is relatively thin, and the speech excerpts are short enough to be pithy, while being comprehensive enough to communicate the key points. As such, this volume would be an asset to any classroom library, and honestly is affordable enough to potentially get a copy in each student's hand.

My only beef with this volume is its inherent bias towards modern speeches. I find questionable the idea that, say, Ronald Reagan gets three speeches included, but there are none from, say, Malcolm X. Additionally, the inclusion of certain women and minorities seems a bit perfunctory. Hillary Clinton's speech in Beijing is a no-brainer for inclusion, but if I ruled the world I would have also included Ann Richards' speech from the 88 Democratic Convention. I would have rather the editors limited the number of selections from single authors, and expanded the net cast over all of American history to capture more women and ethnic minorities. Obviously, issues of diversity can be extremely complex and difficult to navigate in a volume such as this, but the book shakes out so that white men are represented with depth and nuance, while other voices are rather limited not only in number, but in scope of content. For example, the speeches by women are about women, and the speeches by African American authors are about slavery and civil rights.

Overall, however, an excellent primer to the exciting world of political oratory. ( )

A wonder trip down America's speechifying history. ( )

A wonder trip down America's speechifying history. ( )

A wonder trip down America's speechifying history. ( )

A wonder trip down America's speechifying history. ( )