First published 2010
Michael Waldman presents more than forty pivotal presidential addresses that shaped American history across two centuries. The former White House speechwriter for President Clinton introduces each speech with context about its dramatic circumstances and lasting impact. The collection spans from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address through Reagan's Berlin Wall challenge to modern presidents. Three former presidents contribute original essays describing the speeches that most influenced them. Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton share personal reflections on presidential oratory. Waldman includes eyewitness accounts, photographs, handwritten manuscripts, and two audio CDs featuring original recordings dating back over one hundred years. Readers hear actual voices of every president since Benjamin Harrison, plus reenactments of earlier speeches from the pre-recording era. The book captures defining moments like Roosevelt's fear itself speech, Kennedy's inaugural call to service, and Johnson's adoption of civil rights language. This collection offers families and history students a journey through American leadership during times of war, peace, confidence, and crisis through the actual words presidents used to heal, inspire, and sometimes divide the nation.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, american, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-non-fiction
Setting: America, Berlin Wall, United States
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century, 21st-century
384 pages · Hardcover · Sourcebooks MediaFusion