Rhetoric Books

Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates that Defined America

Allen C. Guelzo

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Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln was known as a successful Illinois lawyer who had achieved some prominence in state politics as a leader in the new Republican Party. Two years later, he was elected president and was on his way to becoming the greatest chief executive in American history.

What carried this one-term congressman from obscurity to fame was the campaign he mounted for the United States Senate against the country's most formidable politician, Stephen A. Douglas, in the summer and fall of 1858. Lincoln challenged Douglas directly in one of his greatest speeches -- "A house divided against itself cannot stand" -- and confronted Douglas on the questions of slavery and the inviolability of the Union in seven fierce debates. As this brilliant narrative by the prize-winning Lincoln scholar Allen Guelzo dramatizes, Lincoln would emerge a predominant national figure, the leader of his party, the man who would bear the burden of the national confrontation.

Of course, the great issue between Lincoln and Douglas was slavery. Douglas was the champion of "popular sovereignty," of letting states and territories decide for themselves whether to legalize slavery. Lincoln drew a moral line, arguing that slavery was a violation both of natural law and of the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence. No majority could ever make slavery right, he argued.

Lincoln lost that Senate race to Douglas, though he came close to toppling the "Little Giant," whom almost everyone thought was unbeatable. Guelzo's Lincoln and Douglas brings alive their debates and this whole year of campaigns and underscores their centrality in the greatest conflict in American history.

The encounters between Lincoln and Douglas engage a key question in American political life: What is democracy's purpose? Is it to satisfy the desires of the majority? Or is it to achieve a just and moral public order? These were the real questions in 1858 that led to the Civil War. They remain questions for Americans today.

White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters

Robert Schlesinger

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

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In White House Ghosts, veteran Washington reporter Robert Schlesinger opens a fresh and revealing window on the modern presidency from FDR to George W. Bush. This is the first book to examine a crucial and often hidden role played by the men and women who help presidents find the words they hope will define their places in history.

Drawing on scores of interviews with White House scribes and on extensive archival research, Schlesinger weaves intimate, amusing, compelling stories that provide surprising insights into the personalities, quirks, egos, ambitions, and humor of these presidents as well as how well or not they understood the bully pulpit.

White House Ghosts traces the evolution of the presidential speechwriter's job from Raymond Moley under FDR through such luminaries as Ted Sorensen and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., under JFK, Jack Valenti and Richard Goodwin under LBJ, William Safire and Pat Buchanan under Nixon, Hendrik Hertzberg and James Fallows under Carter, and Peggy Noonan under Reagan, to the "Troika" of Michael Gerson, John McConnell, and Matthew Scully under George W. Bush.

White House Ghosts tells the fascinating inside stories behind some of the most iconic presidential phrases: the first inaugural of FDR ("the only thing we have to fear is fear itself ") and JFK ("ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country"), Richard Nixon's "I am not a crook" and Ronald Reagan's "tear down this wall" speeches, Bill Clinton's ending "the era of big government" State of the Union, and George W. Bush's post-9/11 declaration that "whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done" -- and dozens of other noteworthy speeches. The book also addresses crucial questions surrounding the complex relationship between speechwriter and speechgiver, such as who actually crafted the most memorable phrases, who deserves credit for them, and who has claimed it.

Schlesinger tells the story of the modern American presidency through this unique prism -- how our chief executives developed their very different rhetorical styles and how well they grasped the rewards of reaching out to the country. White House Ghosts is dramatic, funny, gripping, surprising, serious -- and always entertaining.

Shut Up, I'm Talking: And Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned in the Israeli Government--A Memoir

Gregory Levey

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Shut Up, I'm Talking is a smart, hilarious insider take on Israeli politics that reads like the bastard child of Thomas Friedman and David Sedaris. Now a political writer for Salon, Gregory Levey stumbled into a job as speechwriter for the Israeli delegation to the United Nations at age twenty-five and suddenly found himself, like a latter-day Zelig, in the company of foreign ministers, U.S. senators, and heads of state. Much to his surprise, he was soon attending U.N. sessions and drafting official government statements. The situation got stranger still when he was transferred to Jerusalem to write speeches for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Shut Up, I'm Talking is a startling account of Levey's journey into the nerve center of Middle Eastern politics at one of the most turbulent times in Israeli history. During his three years in the Israeli government, the Second Intifada continued on in fits and starts, Yasser Arafat died, Hamas came to power, and Ariel Sharon fell into a coma. Levey was repeatedly thrust into highly improbable situations -- from being the sole "Israeli" delegate (even though he's Canadian) at the U.N. General Assembly, with no idea how "his" country wanted to vote; to nearly inciting an international incident with his high school French translation of an Arab diplomat's anti-Israel remarks; to communicating with Israeli intelligence about the suspected perpetrators of suicide bombings; to being offered leftover salami from Ariel Sharon's lunch. As Levey got better acquainted with the personalities in the government's inner sanctum, he witnessed firsthand the improvisational and ridiculously casual nature of the country's behind-the-scenes leadership -- and realized that he wasn't the only one faking his way through politics.

With sharp insight and great appreciation for the absurd, Levey offers the first-ever look inside Israel's politics from the perspective of a complete outsider, ultimately concluding that the Israeli government is no place for a nice Jewish boy.

Political Communication in American Campaigns

Joseph S. Tuman

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In Political Communication in American Campaigns, Joseph S. Tuman provides a comprehensive, clear, and accessible treatment of American campaign rhetoric and argues that modern elections are not really about contests between candidates or political parties; rather, they are more about the competing messages each player in the political process must present to persuade and reach voters.. This book’s triangulated approach to political communication includes (1) all forms of campaign speech and oratory; (2) the rhetorical dimensions of campaign debates; and (3) candidate/campaign interaction with mass media.


Key Features 

• Allows readers to deconstruct and understand how and why speeches affect voters: Offers methods for understanding how political speeches are constructed and targeted, as well as how to apply these methodologies to a variety of campaign oratories.
• Provides a comprehensive and entertaining explanation of the history of campaign debates in the United States: A historical description of the evolution of political campaign helps situate modern debates within the context of specific mass media strategies and tactics employed by campaigns.
• Reflects how changes in mass media have now influenced how campaigns communicate messages to voters: Explores the relationship between campaigns and mass media, with an emphasis on paid and free media, and addresses the contemporary intersection of campaign Web sites and blogs with campaign main messages, fundraising, manipulating news coverage and creating ads.
• Offers an insider’s view of how campaigns work—and how news media coverage of campaigns works: The book is written with additional insights from the author’s experiences as a political consultant and as a political analyst for news media.
• Presents contemporary examples that all readers will understand: Real-life case studies of debates from both state and national elections; all forms of campaign oratories; and mass mediated campaigns.

Intended Audience
This text is designed for advanced courses dealing with such topics as political communication, media & politics, presidential rhetoric, and persuasion, as found in departments of communication, media studies, and political science.

Live from the Campaign Trail: The Greatest Presidential Campaign Speeches of the Twentieth Century and How They Shaped Modern America

Michael A. Cohen

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Publishing into the teeth of the 2008 election, a selection of the best, most rousing presidential stump speeches, with essential critical context relating the speeches of the past to politics today.

In this collection of twenty-seven of the most influential presidential campaign speeches of the twentieth century, Michael A. Cohen brings to life the words that have shaped American politics over the last century. From the legendary, like William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” and Ronald Reagan’s call for a “national crusade to make America great again”; to the infamous, including Richard Nixon’s maudlin “Checkers” speech and Bill Clinton’s rhetorical broadside against the rapper Sister Souljah; to the poignant, such as FDR’s evocation of America’s “rendezvous with destiny,” Hubert Humphrey’s call for America to walk “into the bright sunshine of human rights,” and Kennedy’s demand for an end to “religious intolerance,” all the great campaign speeches are here. With supporting essays that dramatically set the scene and provide the reader with a historical context to better understand the impact of these seminal addresses, Live from the Campaign Trail will do what no book has ever done before—use the great oratory of the campaign trail to help us examine anew how we got where we are today in American politics and help us better understand the grand themes that underscore the political debates of the twenty-first century.

Best American Political Writing 2007 (Best American Political Writing)

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

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Like the previous five editions of this highly regarded anthology, The Best American Political Writing 2007 draws on a wide variety of publications and political viewpoints to present the year's most insightful and entertaining articles on the current political scene, including coverage of the 2006 elections, America's continuing struggles in Iraq and Afghanistan, and profiles of Hillary Clinton, John McCain, John Edwards, and other presidential hopefuls. Selections include Seymour Hersh's ongoing investigation into America's designs on Iran, Carl Cannon on what happens when presidents lie, Matt Taibbi's portrait of the worst Congress in history, Nobel prize–winning economist Daniel Kahneman on why hawks win most foreign-policy arguments, and Judy Bachrach's account of the year's sleaziest Washington scandal—plus 20 other groundbreaking pieces from such publications as The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Weekly Standard, The New Republic, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, Commentary, and The American Scholar.

The Anti-Intellectual Presidency: The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush

Elvin T. Lim

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Why has it been so long since an American president has effectively and consistently presented well-crafted, intellectually substantive arguments to the American public? Why have presidential utterances fallen from the rousing speeches of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson, and FDR to a series of robotic repetitions of talking points and sixty-second soundbites, largely designed to obfuscate rather than illuminate?
In The Anti-Intellectual Presidency, Elvin Lim draws on interviews with more than 40 presidential speechwriters to investigate this relentless qualitative decline, over the course of 200 years, in our presidents' ability to communicate with the public. Lim argues that the ever-increasing pressure for presidents to manage public opinion and perception has created a "pathology of vacuous rhetoric and imagery" where gesture and appearance matter more than accomplishment and fact. Lim tracks the campaign to simplify presidential discourse through presidential and speechwriting decisions made from the Truman to the present administration, explaining how and why presidents have embraced anti-intellectualism and vague platitudes as a public relations strategy. Lim sees this anti-intellectual stance as a deliberate choice rather than a reflection of presidents' intellectual limitations. Only the smart, he suggests, know how to dumb down. The result, he shows, is a dangerous debasement of our political discourse and a quality of rhetoric which has been described, charitably, as "a linguistic struggle" and, perhaps more accurately, as "dogs barking idiotically through endless nights."
Sharply written and incisively argued, The Anti-Intellectual Presidency sheds new light on the murky depths of presidential oratory, illuminating both the causes and consequences of this substantive impoverishment.

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates: The Lincoln Studies Center Edition (The Knox College Lincoln Studies Center)

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Editorial Review:

While the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas are undoubtedly the most celebrated in American history, they may also be the most consequential as well. For the issues so fiercely debated in 1858 were about various interrelated aspects of one momentous, nation-threatening issue: slavery. The contest between Lincoln and Douglas became a testing ground for the viability of conflicting ideals in a nation deeply divided. One of the most colorful and engaging episodes in American history, this series of debates is of enduring interest as an illuminating instance of the ever-recurring dilemma of self-government: what happens when the guiding principle of democracy, "popular sovereignty," confronts a principled stand against a "moral, social, and political evil"? The tragic answer in this case came three years later: civil war.

Important as they are, the Lincoln-Douglas debates have long since ceased to be self-explanatory. This edition is the first to provide a text founded on all known records, rather than following one or another of the partisan and sometimes widely-varying newspaper accounts. Meticulously edited and annotated, it provides numerous aids to help the modern reader understand the debates, including extensive introductory material, commentary, and a glossary. The fullest and most dependable edition of the Lincoln-Douglas debates ever prepared, this edition brings readers as close as possible to the original words of these two remarkable men.

Making Sense of Political Ideology: The Power of Language in Democracy (Communication, Media, and Politics)

Bernard L. Brock

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The politics of rhetoric...an exciting read. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Dr. Brock's political analysis of language across the political spectrum is an interesting study of the impact of rhetoric as it defines political issues and political parties. Warranting his argument though timely topics and the way in which perception is created through labels and symbolism, the book begins to illuminate the differences inherent to our uniquely centrist dominant political parites and their more radical or reactionary fringes. Most importantly, the book presents an insightful explanation of the pendulum upon which our political parties swing, and the symbolic language signifying the change that is before us. If you are interested in politics, the study of political rhetoric and language, and an incredibly accessible analysis of these issues, Brock's last work is well worth the read.

Editorial Review:

Making Sense of Political Ideology explores the erosion of ties among ideology, language, and political action. Analyzing political language strategies, it shows how to dissect language so we can better understand a speaker's ideology. The authors define four political positions radical, liberal, conservative, reactionary and apply their techniques to contemporary issues such as the war on terrorism. They emphasize the dangers of staying trapped in political gridlock with no consensus for governmental direction and propose that the ability to identify and bridge positions can help political communicators toward constructing coalitions and building support for political action. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Going Nucular: Language, Politics, and Culture in Confrontational Times

Geoff Nunberg

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Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Geoffrey Nunberg can make one quite self conscious to write even a simple sentence. And yes, that is a compliment. A regular language commentator on NPR's Fresh Air, Nunberg examines the curious ways in which the modern language expresses far more about history, politics, and culture than most casual English users would ever realize. Going Nucular, besides having one of the more whimsical titles to come along in a while, offers up scores of chapters, each examining specific words, phrases, or verbal tendencies. And while words like "terrorism", "fascism", "appeasement", and "Caucasian" (and even the hapless "like" and "ain't") are tossed about regularly in contemporary usage, achieving an understanding of their origin and evolution can serve to better explain not just the word but the issue to which it is attached. Other language books have become popular among the "grammarati" for their hard line approach but Nunberg seeks to explore and understand rather than to enforce and punish. To that end, he defends "blog" as being a verb and noun that has earned its place in the language; it's very phonetic clunkiness being part of the appeal. And though he can diagram a sentence with the best of them, Nunberg is at his most delightful when shining a harsh lingual light on the ways in which the average person encounters words every day. A stinging and hilarious indictment of TV news' weird obsession with the present tense ("In North Dakota, high winds making life difficult") makes the reader hear the evening news in an entirely new way. Going Nucular is much more than a nudge and a wisecrack to self-appointed word cops, it's an insider's tour of the vernacular by the English teacher you only wish you had. --John Moe