The Rhetoric of Rhetoric

by Wayne C. Booth

In this manifesto, distinguished critic Wayne Booth claims that communication in every corner of life can be improved if we study rhetoric closely.

Written by Wayne Booth, author of the seminal book, The Rhetoric of Fiction (1961).
Explores the consequences of bad rhetoric in education, in politics, and in the media.
Investigates the possibility of reducing harmful conflict by practising a rhetoric that depends on deep listening by both sides.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Textbooks, Politics, Linguistics, Literary Criticism

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Kaspar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird little book. Good ideas and very good references in the first half. Goes off the rails in the second half and gets hung up on religion vs science, spending the whole last chapter on a tangent. Plus some distracting philosophical kinks.

Part I is an easy recommendation; Part II is uneven, but has some OK moments; Part III is a skip.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

As horrible as the title of this book sounds, it was actually a decent read. I wouldn't recommend it as a pleasure read by any means; it was rather a nice primer on the current state of rhetoric.

[Jake B-Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first four chapters are wonderful — an excellent introduction to rhetoric as a field of study with an overview of some of the main figures that attempted to revitalize it in the twentieth century. If you want a very accessible introduction to the varying ways that people have defined rhetoric over the last two millennia, chapter 1 (“How Many Rhetorics?”) is a fabulous place to start.

However, the very feature that makes the first four chapters so helpful — Wayne Booth writing a capstone book at the end of his life — makes the remainder of the book less productive. You get the sense that Booth is imagining himself speaking at a lectern in a lecture hall, and he indulges in all of the informal style and lengthy tangents to which a professor emeritus is entitled. It makes for entertaining reading, but not particularly robust or tightly argued scholarship.

[Claire Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the chapters in Part II. It would be interesting to hear his take on the topics of political rhetoric and media rhetoric in light of the Obama and Trump administrations and the “fake news” phenomenon.

[Kaylee Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

school book I actually liked.... definitely not perfect but I was surprised by the fairly humble tone and fresh ideas.

[Tannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a class. It was pretty good and gave me some more good background on rhetoric.

[Tait Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some aspects of this book changed my core understanding of rws. Sometime went on weird tangents that are not helpful tho.

[Karla Kitalong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found a quote on p. 169 that I need to write about a bit. I think it was (with some reflection and writing) help me formulate the notion of "a rhetoric of x" that I've been seeking. It's very important that it be phrased as A rhetoric of X, rather than the rhetoric of x, because there can't be just one. Glad I finally read this book, some 20 years after it was published.

[Vadim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Эта книга -- развернутый призыв к тому, чтобы больше и лучше слушать друг друга. Это должно помочь в преодолении общественных противоречий, а в качестве инструмента для понимания друг друга автор предлагает риторику. Книга едва ли позволяет лучше понять общественные противоречия и лучше слышать собеседника, однако содержит множество ценных ссылок на книги по современной риторике. В этом отношении особенно полезна четвертая глава, где Уэйн Бут описывает идеи особенно рекомендуемых им коллег.

[Lizzie Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thumbs up for rhetoric, all you literature nerds.