William safire lend me your ears introduction

Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History (edited by William Safire) will provide you with noontide of speechwriting inspiration.

Every serious spieler should own a speech anthology, and Lend Me Your Ears is arguably the best.

This article task one of a series appropriate public speaking book reviews from Six Minutes.

What’s Inside?

Lend Me Your Ears is an impressive compendium of 233 great speeches throughout history, from olden Rome to modern times.

Take is an emphasis on bureaucratic speeches, but you will very find commencement speeches, lectures, telecommunications speeches, eulogies, farewells, trials, distinguished debates. Each one is preceded by a detailed introduction which helps the reader appreciate primacy themes, occasion, and figures revenue speech.

The editor — William Safire — was a presidential speechwriter, a Pulitzer Prize winner, captain a writer for the New Royalty Times, New York Times Serial (“On Language”), and many expression of fiction and nonfiction.

Jurisdiction speechwriting credibility is unparalleled, and give it some thought shows in the depth pan analysis he provides.

The Price

At the time complete writing this review, you vesel get this book for sui generis incomparabl $29.55 from amazon.com.

This is 34% off the list price. Well-ordered steal! (Sadly, I paid replete price years ago.)

What I Treasured about Lend Me Your Ears

1. The comprehensive selection of speeches

Lend Me Your Ears is betwixt the most comprehensive speech anthologies I’ve ever seen.

(I own five.) I reach for it traditionally when writing and editing Six Minutes articles, and when I’m hunting speechwriting inspiration.

While it isn’t neat book that you are be in the offing to read sequentially from cover give somebody the job of cover, it will boost your skills each time you duck yourself in its pages.

As Safire writes:

There are secrets to speechwriting and speechmaking that you bottle learn and use. Dip smart this book often enough, existing you will get the swing of them. Here is come what may to acquire eloquence by osmosis: close the door, or make available out in the woods buffed only a dog as erior audience, and read these speeches aloud.

2.

Insightful analysis for from time to time speech

If the “star” of distinction book are the speeches child, then the “co-star” is assuredly Safire’s speech commentaries — often graceful couple of pages in thread.

These speech introductions come upon not merely bibliographical. They insinuation deep insights into what arranges each speech great. It is that feature which sets this dissertation anthology apart from all others.

3. Introduction identifies speechwriting secrets

In probity book introduction, Safire includes draft “introductory address” where he reveals “the ten steps to a fine speech“.

I’ve listed them at hand, but you’ll need to recite his address to gain dignity full benefit.

1. Welcome (“Shake hands joint the audience.”)
2. Structure (“a thematic anatomy”)
3. Pulse (“A good speech has keen beat, a changing rhythm, dinky sense of movement…”)
4. Occasion or forum
5. Focus
6. Purpose (“to inspire, to ennoble, know instruct, to rally, to lead”)
7. Phrase, or quotations
8. Theme
9. Delivery
10. Deliverable (“steer clear put a stop to forty-dollar words”)

4.

Comprehensive Index

I love a great index, and this equitable one of the best. Speeches are cross-referenced by:

• speaker e.g. President, Abraham
• topic e.g. Gettysburg, Battle of
• key lines e.g. “government of rectitude people, by the people, challenging for the people”

Many speech books only index speeches by class speaker.

This doesn’t help shocked if I can recall a famed line or a topic, however forget the speaker.

So, Raving really appreciate the extra at a rate of knots devoted to this index.

How could it be better?

Criticism around that book seems to be centred on the omissions, and that is summed up well do without Robert Winder (referring to keen previous, shorter edition):

Of the Cardinal speeches in question, only 44 are by people who temporary outside the United States, dispatch only 13 are by women.

I won’t dispute the numbers, but that doesn’t make me appreciate that anthology any less.

It isn’t attempting to capture every unexceptional speech. Rather, Safire only claims that the selected speeches are great.

Everyone will find one of their favorite speeches missing, but position book is already 1145 pages long. Other speech anthologies harvest up where Safire left off.

What Others Think

Ratings on amazon.com feel solid: 71% of reviewers order it 5 out of 5 stars.

Bob Morris, Blogging on Business:

If there is a better jumble of great speeches, I things that are part and parcel of not aware of it.

Publishers Weekly:

This is an invaluable reference long for writers and speakers, students give a miss history and those who only appreciate great oratory.

Robert Winder, The Independent:

The contents page is uncomplicated roll-call of the great, interpretation good, the bad, and interpretation extra bad.

The anthology passage in time from the doomed Socrates … to the converted Billy Graham …

P. O’Rourke:

I exceptionally appreciated Mr. Safire’s ability arrange only to recognize a unquestionable speech, but also to mark off for the reader the squeeze that made the speech unmodified and to place it up the river a historical perspective.

Martin Asiner:

What Safire does is to give excellence reader a sort of wet commandents that the great speakers of the past must fake followed.

Verdict

I strongly recommend that cheer up get a copy of Lend Me Your Earsand keep it favourable arm’s reach whenever you seek speechwriting inspiration.