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American Voices An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Orators
Book Code: GR2790
ISBN: 0-313-32790-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-32790-2
512 pages
Greenwood Press
Publication: 8/30/2005
List Price: $131.95 (UK Sterling Price: £75.00)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 7 x 10
Subjects: Reviews:
  • More than 50 alphabetical essays ranging in length from five to eight pages examine the orators' speeches, styles, and contributions to political and social life. A useful introduction defines oratory, reiterates the rich history of rhetoric, and discusses the effects of television, radio, and the web on the success or failure of these speeches....Compared with former presidential speechwriter William Safire's Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History, which is arranged by theme and subject, American Voices goes into greater depth in appraisal of the speakers' skill, effectiveness, and historical contribution. Recommended for larger public and academic libraries and students of rhetoric and public speaking.
    —Library Journal
    November 15, 2005
  • Duffy and Leeman have compiled a collection of essays representing American orators since 1960....The 50 signed entries include every president since John F. Kennedy, politicians, activists, and jurists; despite its selective content the editors have made an admirable effort to represent all backgrounds. The introduction defines the coverage and discusses how the Internet, radio, and television have influenced rhetoric. Each essay includes a brief biography and examines key speeches made by each orator, complete with the events surrounding the speech and rhetorical analysis. Bibliographies accompanying each entry are among the strengths of this work. Information about research collections, collected speeches, biographical works, critical studies, and a chronology of the major speeches can be found in most entries. Primary sources, Web sites, books, magazines, and journal articles are among the many referenced entries. The accompanying bibliographic essay provides general sources on oratory and rhetoric that can be used by students and critics alike. This title will be useful for courses in public speaking and rhetoric, American history, and political science. Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers.
    —Choice
    February 2006
  • This well-researched reference text contains entries for 58 U.S. orators whose differing styles, messages, and abilities provide a good glimpse into the richness of American oratorical culture....American Voices provides an important resource for the study of contemporary U.S. oratory....The depth of research, insight, and references in the volume will impress students, researchers, and teachers alike. American Voices stands as a welcomed addition to the field, and will be a reference source that promises to have staying power.
    —The Review of Communication
    January 2008
  • [F]or the right collection this would make a valuable addition. The biographies could be particularly useful in guiding American studies reading.
    —Reference Reviews
    January 2007
  • [F]ollows the critical moments, issues, and writings of modern American speakers through the decades.
    —MBR Bookwatch
    November 2005
  • This volume is an informative resource and a useful complement to other reference works that cover many of the same individuals but from different angles. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.
    —Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
    December 15, 2005
  • This unique reference examines more than 50 contemporary speakers from the 1960s to the present in terms of style, substance, and ability to shape American thought. All U.S. presidents since 1960 are included, as well as legendary orators such as Martin Luther King, Jr.; Wilma Mankiller; Billy Graham, Jr.; Ralph Nader; and Thurgood Marshall. More contemporary names include Christine Todd Whitman, Sandra Day OConnor, Larry Kramer, and Donald Rumsfeld....Portions of key speeches are discussed in terms of purpose and effectiveness. Well-known speeches such as Caesar Chavezs El Plan de Delano and Hillary Rodham Clintons It Takes a Village can be found in the comprehensive index by phrase or subject matter. Lists of official Web sites, selected critical studies in periodicals and books, and a chronology of major speeches follow each essay. This volume will aid history classes, debate clubs, and public-speaking forums.
    —School Library Journal
    December 2005
Description: 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 her contribution to American political and social life. All entries incorporate chronologies of major speeches, bibliographies including primary sources, biographies, and critical studies and archival collections or Web sites appropriate for student research. Entries include high profile individuals such as: John D. Ashcroft, Elizabeth Dole, Jerry Falwell, Anita Hill, Ralph Nader, Ronald Reagan, Janet Reno, Gloria Steinem, Malcolm X; and many others. Excerpts of major speeches and sidebars complement the text. Ideal for researchers and students in public speaking classes, American history classes, American politics classes, contemporary public address classes, and rhetorical theory/criticism classes.
Table of Contents:
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • John D. Ashcroft by Harry Hellenbrand
  • Elizabeth M. Birch by Shawn Parry-Giles and Jason Edward Black
  • Patrick J. Buchanan by C. Brant Short
  • George Herbert Walker Bush by Craig R. Smith
  • George Walker Bush by Richard E. Vatz
  • Robert Carlyle Byrd by William D. Pederson and Sina K. Nazemi
  • Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Toure) by Robert E. Terrill
  • James Earl Carter by Richard W. Leeman
  • Cesar Estrada Chavez by John C. Hammerback and Richard J. Jensen
  • Ward L. Churchill by Catherine H. Palczewski Randall A. Lake
  • Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton by Karrin Vasby Anderson
  • William Jefferson Clinton by Stephen A. Smith
  • Mario Matthew Cuomo by Mary Anne Trasciatti
  • Thomas Andrew Daschle by Troy A. Murphy
  • Angela Yvonne Davis by Cindy L. Griffin
  • Alan Dershowitz by R. John DeSanto and Daniel A. Grano
  • Elizabeth Hanford Dole by Nichola Gutgold
  • Marian Wright Edelman by Beth Waggenspack
  • Jocelyn Elders by Lorraine D. Jackson
  • Jerry Falwell by Paul Stob and Charles Conrad
  • Louis Abdul Farrakhan by Mark Lawrence McPhail
  • Gerald Rudolph Ford by Herman Stelzner, revised by Charles Ottinger
  • Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. by David Hoffman
  • William "Billy" Graham, Jr. by Hal W. Fulmer and Jennifer L. Young
  • Anita Faye Hill by Vanessa B. Beasley
  • Jesse Louis Jackson by David B. McLennan
  • Lyndon Baines Johnson by David Zarefsky
  • Sonia Johnson by Karen A. Foss
  • Barbara Charline Jordan by Carl Burgchardt
  • Edward Moore Kennedy by William D. Pederson
  • John Fitzgerald Kennedy by Theodore O. Windt, Jr., revised and edited by Steven Goldzwig
  • Robert Francis Kennedy by Steven R. Goldzwig and Patricia A. Sullivan
  • John F. Kerry by Bernard K. Duffy and Marilyn DeLaure
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. by Marilyn DeLaure and Bernard K. Duffy
  • Larry Kramer by Charles E. Morris
  • Winona LaDuke by Dayle C. Hardy-Short and C. Brant Short
  • Audre Geraldine Lorde by Lester C. Olson
  • Wilma Mankiller by Christopher Skiles
  • Thurgood Marshall by Stephen A. Smith
  • William (Bill) Paul McCartney by Jennifer L. Young
  • Russell Means by Randall A. Lake and Catherine H. Palczewski
  • Harvey Bernard Milk by Karen A. Foss
  • Ralph Nader by Steven Goldzwig and Patricia Sullivan
  • Richard Milhous Nixon by Celeste M. Condit and Shannon Holland
  • Samuel Augustus Nunn by Edward M. Panetta
  • Sandra Day O'Conner by Janice Schuetz
  • H. Ross Perot by Mari Boor Tonn and Valerie A. Endress
  • Colin Luther Powell by Richard W. Leeman
  • Ronald Wilson Reagan by Ronald H. Carpenter and Windy Y. Lawrence
  • Janet Reno by Janice Schuetz
  • Donald Rumsfeld by Gordon Stables
  • Antonin Scalia by Catherine Langford
  • Al Sharpton by Daniel A. Grano
  • Gloria Steinem by Lisa Shawn Hogan
  • George Wallace by Andrew King
  • Alyce Faye Wattleton by Lorraine D. Jackson
  • Christine Todd Whitman by Kristina Sheeler
  • Malcolm X by Thomas W. Benson
  • Bibliographic Essay by Alan Razee
  • Contributors
LC Card Number: 2005006187
LCC Class: PS408
Dewey Class: 815
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