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All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches
A vital account of fifteen speeches and orators – from Benjamin Franklin to Barack Obama – that tells the story of the United States as a battle over what it means to be an American, from a New York Times bestselling author and former presidential speechwriter
What does it mean to be an American? Since the Founding, Americans have been having an intense debate over this deceptively simple question which has spawned Constitutional crises, civil war, populism, mass migrations, reform movements – and their inevitable backlash. The history of this debate over who and what makes an American, Ben Rhodes argues, is essential to understanding how the United States has evolved as a nation and the intensity of their divisions today.
In this book, Rhodes tells the story of fifteen essential speeches – some famous, some obscure - that, together, offer a fresh and revealing portrait of the United States as an ongoing contest over what it means to be American. With rare insight into the power and purpose of political rhetoric, Rhodes illuminates how each speech reflects the nature of American identity at a particular historical moment, with riveting portraits of the people, movements, and social conditions that produced pivotal oratory. Rhode also establishes the unique role of speaking as an act of American political persuasion – from Franklin’s case for compromise at the Constitutional convention to Alexander Stephen’s case for white supremacy as the cornerstone of the Confederacy; or, in social movements, from Martin Luther King’s demand for racial equality at the march on Washington, to Pat Buchanan’s 'culture war' speech to the 1992 Republican convention which foreshadowed Donald Trump. For a country that values individualism, self-invention, and mass media, Rhodes reminds us that speeches have occupied an out-sized space in the American national the lone voice before a crowd, bending history to its will.
At a time when what it means to be an American is a matter of intense debate and division, Ben Rhodes offers rare insight into the gap between who we say we are, and who we want to be.
What does it mean to be an American? Since the Founding, Americans have been having an intense debate over this deceptively simple question which has spawned Constitutional crises, civil war, populism, mass migrations, reform movements – and their inevitable backlash. The history of this debate over who and what makes an American, Ben Rhodes argues, is essential to understanding how the United States has evolved as a nation and the intensity of their divisions today.
In this book, Rhodes tells the story of fifteen essential speeches – some famous, some obscure - that, together, offer a fresh and revealing portrait of the United States as an ongoing contest over what it means to be American. With rare insight into the power and purpose of political rhetoric, Rhodes illuminates how each speech reflects the nature of American identity at a particular historical moment, with riveting portraits of the people, movements, and social conditions that produced pivotal oratory. Rhode also establishes the unique role of speaking as an act of American political persuasion – from Franklin’s case for compromise at the Constitutional convention to Alexander Stephen’s case for white supremacy as the cornerstone of the Confederacy; or, in social movements, from Martin Luther King’s demand for racial equality at the march on Washington, to Pat Buchanan’s 'culture war' speech to the 1992 Republican convention which foreshadowed Donald Trump. For a country that values individualism, self-invention, and mass media, Rhodes reminds us that speeches have occupied an out-sized space in the American national the lone voice before a crowd, bending history to its will.
At a time when what it means to be an American is a matter of intense debate and division, Ben Rhodes offers rare insight into the gap between who we say we are, and who we want to be.
432 pages, Hardcover
Published May 26, 2026
About the author
Ben Rhodes
5 books531 followersFrom 2009 to 2017, Ben Rhodes served as deputy national security advisor to President Barack Obama, overseeing the administration’s national security communications, speechwriting, public diplomacy, and global engagement programming. Prior to joining the Obama administration, from 2007 to 2008 Rhodes was a senior speechwriter and foreign policy advisor to the Obama campaign. Before joining then–Senator Obama’s campaign, he worked for former congressman Lee Hamilton from 2002 to 2007. He was the co-author, with Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, of Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission. A native New Yorker, Rhodes has a BA from Rice University and an MFA from New York University.
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March 11, 2026
All We Say by Ben Rhodes is a gifted speechwriter’s look back at several speeches from American history, Rhodes looks at their impact but more importantly the history behind the speech. Smartly written yet accessible, it’s a powerful reminder of how deeply words matter. Rhodes controversially has included the second inaugural speech that Dear Leader Tr*mp barely managed to spit out, given there were some big words in there for him to master. The inclusion serves as a warning to the danger that the American democracy is in but it’s likely come too late. Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhouse for the opportunity to preview this book.
June 17, 2026
The arrival of a new American speech anthology might only draw excitement from those, so close to Father’s Day, looking for a good gift for that patriotic dad. But Ben Rhodes’s All We Say only appears to be an anthology. It’s such a Trojan Horse of a book one wonders if Random House could cross-promote the Christopher Nolan film Odyssey with it. All We Say is an argument that American history can be understood as a battle over identity: Are we a nation based on territory and heritage, or one based on due process, laws, and rights? Rhodes’s book traces this argument using speeches as evidence for the argument’s centrality. Unfortunately at the end, we are left with no plan, cold comfort, and a surprising lack of insight from a former speechwriter about how these speeches came to be or work at all.
The book uses a selection of American speeches to tell the story about America that Ben Rhodes wants to tell. This is much more a product of Rhodes the podcaster than Rhodes the West Wing speechwriter. It suffers from too much of the former and not enough of the latter. It’s a missed opportunity in a few ways and might be a disappointing read for those expecting a collection of speeches that invoke American greatness.
In the introduction, Rhodes sets out his aim: “This is not an effort to identify the fifteen greatest American speeches. Instead, the fifteen speeches here are concerned with the question of American identity and how to define it.” He lets us know he’s no historian, but he did write speeches for Barack Obama for 8 years. We seem to be set up to get a speechcraft perspective on these fifteen speeches, either how they work or fail to work to convince audiences what an American ought to be.
It’s a strong start, particularly on the heels of a very nice reading of J.D. Vance’s speech at the Claremont Institute in July of 2025. But this is the high point of the speechwriter’s perspective. The rest of the selections are oversaturated with historical narrative, and Rhodes never swoops in to offer an identifiable speech-craft or speechwriter’s perspective on any of them outside of some descriptive commentary. Good speeches are simply the result of good life experiences, such as Benjamin Franklin who learned that “you cannot get everything that you want,” and “views can change.” Red Jacket, a member of the Seneca Nation, brought his upbringing from Seneca rhetorical culture to make his speeches effective through careful listening.
The most speechwriter comments come on FDR’s “Four Freedoms” speech where Rhodes tells us it’s better to give the audience what they need not what they want: “I worked on eight State of the Union speeches and we had to find eight different ways to declare the state of the union strong even when it wasn’t.” But it’s not really up to the speechwriter; FDR’s ‘candor’ made the speech work in the end.
Lincoln’s second inaugural, a strange inclusion as “Cooper Union” would be a better pairing with Alexander Stephen’s “Cornerstone” address advocating white supremacy and slavery, is chalked up to Lincoln’s divine inspiration and religious feelings. Rhodes tries to match both Stephens and Lincoln as interpreters of the Bible, when a better argument would be Lincoln as upholding the constitution versus a religious-based regime. Regardless, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural, as well as the Cooper Union speech, have received a dearth of scholarly treatment. But this is immaterial to Rhodes. Such speeches, again, are not a result of good strategy regarding an audience; they speak hard truths and erupt in deep beliefs of the speakers that are being carried through the currents of historical events.
Ronald Reagan’s speech in Orlando captured the conservative moment perfectly in a symbolic location for conservatives, but this is an effect of Reagan’s singular abilities as a speaker. Likewise, Barack Obama’s unique position as a black man, a Senator, and a Presidential candidate led him to speak in a way that only he could about race and politics. Rhodes does offer a bit of his own rhetorical theory here, writing that his “job required me to live inside Obama’s head, to understand his worldview.” A speechwriter, therefore, needs no other muse than authenticity and connection to the speaker’s beliefs.
Rhodes also consistently makes the argument that these speeches are significant because the speakers were unique. Rhodes loves to describe speeches as transcendent and speakers as either prophets or prophetic. In the selection of Maria Stewart’s speech at Boston’s Masonic Hall and Frederick Douglas’s address, “Composite Nation,” both speakers’ success is because they are prophetic, or prophets. Even so, Rhodes assures us that his edit of Douglas’s speech is just the “main arguments,” without any explanation of how he determined what mattered and what didn’t. Is it that careful speech-craft led us to believe they are prophets, that their message is at the level of religious revelation? Or did they know something about their audience, either in person or in the press, that they made use of? Rhodes doesn’t answer any questions like this. He prefers to let the speeches stand as evidence that he is right about his account of American history orbiting around the question of identity.
In the end, we are left as observers to this important question, how it has been answered and asked through the history of the country without any real insight into these speeches as choices of wording, style, or delivery. Not much is said about audience; I think Rhodes believes his historical narratives serve that purpose. But he misses key moments that could really demonstrate to the reader that writing and delivering a speech is a choice about how to center, frame, and offer an attitude about something. There are many ways to describe a situation, to account for someone’s motives, and to encourage others to change their minds. It’s this insight from Ben Rhodes that the book is missing, and it is presumptively why he was able to get it published. At the end of the book, he laments contemporary politics. Following an Obama speech with a Trump speech might seem like necessary salesmanship at first glance, but for Rhodes it’s the ultimate contrast. He casts doubt we will ever get back to a place where American identity is based on laws, rights, and due process not on territory and racial identity. He strangely says that this question is in our country’s DNA (not much a speech can do to change genetics) and offers us this volume as cold comfort for times like ours. We are left with a feeling that speeches can serve as evidence of the tidal forces of history but cannot do much at all to alter it. It’s a strange thing to think from the perspective of rhetoric.
Rhodes is neither a historian nor a rhetorician. He would have more hope if he was the latter. He would also have offered a book that was more a speech anthology than a nostalgic argument. As David Murray recently wrote about Rhodes’s book, “Who in the world is reading these?” As a professor of rhetoric, I can say that it’s probably only me and a few friends. I fully expect to receive more than one copy of All We Say as a gift this year for this event or that. But it begs the question that the anthologies are to be read. They are meant to inspire, to provide kindling, to serve a more important purpose than what they appear.
It wouldn’t be hyperbole argue that the printed anthology of speeches is synonymous with education in the United States. To this day, high school students participate in declamation contests, performing political or culturally significant speeches from memory that someone decided should be in the kind of anthology Rhodes does not offer. Some of you might remember having to memorize a Presidential speech, or part of one, as a civics assignment in school. Anthologies are meant for teaching us how to speak ourselves. It’s important to note that every anthology is a selection, and a deflection, of an understanding of great speech. They are necessary because by reading them we get to participate as audiences did at that time: Why was this good? Why say it that way? What could this speaker be trying to do? Speech anthologies are storehouses not of information, but of the catalysts to doing it ourselves. Speaking our minds is vital in the maintenance and long-term health of democracy.
The most historically important speech anthology in American history was Caleb Bingham’s The Columbian Orator first published in 1797. This collection of speeches is mostly left alone, aside from Bingham’s introductory ‘rules’ which set out what a good speech is and how to master the art. Young Fredrick Douglas encountered this book and credited the anthology for providing him the start of his oratorical career. Lincoln also gave this book a lot of credit. Bingham published it because he believed libraries, at least those we could easily access, were rare and this volume would serve as a kind of mobile library. Its role isn’t to be passively read, but engaged directly, to be spoken aloud, to be embraced. As David Blight, the editor of the most recent iteration of Bingham’s book wrote in the introduction to that text:
Anthologies are not meant to be admired, but to be practiced. Well, maybe a little of both in the case of William Safire’s hefty Lend me Your Ears, where the history of global public address is sifted for those speeches that meet his ten-part rubric: A good handshake with the audience, via language; give them some structure (he calls this ‘shapeliness’), a pulse or movement, occasion, forum, focus, phrase, purpose, theme, and delivery. If a speech does all these things well, it gets into this massive volume no matter what the original language, place, or time. Safire’s introduction is there, and brief gloss on each speech, to help steer us through the gallery. But the focus is on art, not the curator.
Rhodes focus is on the curator. He lowers expectations for even his own readers: “Something has been lost: the capacity to listen to an entire argument.” An odd take for a podcaster and speechwriter to be sure. He has three criteria for inclusion for his fifteen speeches. “The speech must be authentic: The speaker should be the only person able to deliver it.” He violates this principle in speech one, sharing a Benjamin Franklin speech that was not delivered by Franklin, but written by him. By that standard, should Obama be included if Rhodes and the speechwriting team wrote the speech in this volume? It's unclear what he means. Rhodes tells us that good speeches are part of “the unseen power of a movement.” Difficult to prove let alone harness power that nobody can detect to inspire or contextualize a speech. How can a speech identify and use such power? Finally, a speech must “capture the distributive media of the times.” for Rhodes, this is the oversimplistic positivist progression from live audience, to newspaper, to radio, to television. Most of us catch speeches in fragments - quotes from historical speeches, tik tok clips for those from today, or a sound bite on a morning news program or podcast. But Rhodes doesn’t mention this kind of reception. He tells us, “By learning from these words spoken in the past we are reminded that history is a living thing and that we have the capacity to change it.” We never get any insight, tools, or speculation as to how speechwriters or orators engage in such a challenging task from Rhodes. It seems by the end he's convinced himself there's little we can do but wait for the changing tides of discourse to save us.
The book does make sense given Rhodes’s beliefs: If we have no capacity to engage the world with speech, there’s not much reason to leave it to speak for itself. Speech isn’t the image for Rhodes; it is the reflection. It is the trace not the hand holding the pencil. His selection criteria treats speech as the effect of larger historical forces, not really making much impact on them at all. Lincoln, Reagan, Stephens, Stewart – they all were in tune with the historical forces of their time and were able to express them in a way that survived historical lacunae. Surely there is some active choice and judgement involved in speech-craft?
Regardless of the selection criteria, It would be much more interesting to hear the opinion of a professional speechwriter, who has been writing in difficult situations, where one turns when one needs an argument, a change of direction, or how to confront an attitude among the audience that forecloses the claim the speaker wishes to make. These kinds of technical, operational insights are missing from Rhodes’s book. Instead, we are to see these speeches as evidence that Rhodes is right, that Americans cannot stop talking about American identity. Or Rhodes could enter the cottage industry of former Obama speechwriters who are all writing books based on this ethos with a variety of degrees of reliance on it. None of them are about speech writing itself, apart from Terry Suzplat’s Say it Well. This book, masking as an anthology, does an injustice to that genre and to the fully formed argument that Rhodes could have made, had he simply written an argumentative book and not felt he needed to include the transcripts.
Where the book really suffers and should be more like an anthology is the lack of any speechwriter analysis here. As a professional academic rhetorician, I don’t expect Rhodes to be doing anything I’d see in a scholarly treatment. But it doesn’t help the reader appreciate the power of a speech if everyone giving a meaningful one is a “prophet” or inspired by forces we can’t see nor account for. There have to be contextual gestures, at the very least, to think like audience, occasion, and attitude toward the issue being addressed. A little goes a long way. For example, Rhodes tells us that Maria Stewart’s profound address in Boston mixed personal hardships from white supremacy with the “currents of Black thought and activism” but we “don’t know how . . . the speech was received that night.” A look at the chapter on this speech in Kristin Waters’s 2022 book on Stewart tells us that, “The African Masonic Hall, the creation of an exclusively Black and male organization, was the setting for Maria Stewart’s lecture on African rights and liberty indicates both her ascendance into the community’s regard and the degree to which resources were shared.” This is the kind of information I would think a speechwriter, looking at how a speech came to be, would share. This kind of attention to occasion, setting, and purpose should light Rhodes’s professional speechwriter perspective on fire, giving us all he would consider a speechwriter would have access to, what would be out of bounds, and what would necessarily need to be included. But we don’t get any of that. Rhodes leans heavily on Waters’s book but never brings these details to the foreground. Although Rhodes might believe these speeches are somehow influencing history, his approach makes speeches feel like effects of history instead of significant participants.
Rhodes instead has the speeches serve as evidence that his historical perspective is right. This is the wrong direction for either anthology or a political argument informed by someone familiar with the principles and practice of good political speech-writing. It splits the middle and probably will upset those who want to evaluate an exhibit of historical speeches and those who are used to Rhodes’s podcast, seeking a sharp-edged argument about American history. However, Rhodes should be commended for the inclusion of speeches that are ignored by many, such as Maria Stewart, Delores Huerta, and Anna Dickson. It makes me wish he had approached the book as a deep dive into American oratory, with a title like Why Didn’t We Listen? His examination of such speeches would be a welcome addition to public address. But he isn’t interested in that. His selection is to prove that he is right, that one day the pendulum will swing back from heritage and territory to due process and rights as being the center of American identity. But he has no suggestions on how to get there, or what any of us could do to influence this change.
I fully expect one day to browse the “Former Obama Speechwriter” section of Barnes & Noble and encounter the follow up volume, More Than All We Say, or We Keep Saying More which I am sure is in outline or draft form as we speak. This book will have appeal, and not just for Father’s Day or other awkward gift-giving obligations, such as to a speech professor you really liked. It will be on office bookshelves and coffee tables, and I hope it will spark some conversation. Rhodes thesis is not bad. It just deserves better treatment. And Rhodes has all the ability to treat it in an enlightening and compelling way: Speak about these speeches as a professional speechwriter for the job where speech matters most. Either that or step out of the way after introducing them and let us encounter them and be amazed, as I’m sure Ben Rhodes was when he first read these. The best speech anthologies are arguments for excellence. We don't always agree. They should be like taking your snooty 16-year-old nephew or niece to the art museum – “Pshhhh, I could do that!” More hopeful than any distant reverence or remarks on the uniqueness of the work, this reaction is the hopeful one. For we should all encounter anthologized speeches and wonder why they are so special. We should all believe that we too can speak when times are tough and be remembered for our small parts in keeping democracy going.
The book uses a selection of American speeches to tell the story about America that Ben Rhodes wants to tell. This is much more a product of Rhodes the podcaster than Rhodes the West Wing speechwriter. It suffers from too much of the former and not enough of the latter. It’s a missed opportunity in a few ways and might be a disappointing read for those expecting a collection of speeches that invoke American greatness.
In the introduction, Rhodes sets out his aim: “This is not an effort to identify the fifteen greatest American speeches. Instead, the fifteen speeches here are concerned with the question of American identity and how to define it.” He lets us know he’s no historian, but he did write speeches for Barack Obama for 8 years. We seem to be set up to get a speechcraft perspective on these fifteen speeches, either how they work or fail to work to convince audiences what an American ought to be.
It’s a strong start, particularly on the heels of a very nice reading of J.D. Vance’s speech at the Claremont Institute in July of 2025. But this is the high point of the speechwriter’s perspective. The rest of the selections are oversaturated with historical narrative, and Rhodes never swoops in to offer an identifiable speech-craft or speechwriter’s perspective on any of them outside of some descriptive commentary. Good speeches are simply the result of good life experiences, such as Benjamin Franklin who learned that “you cannot get everything that you want,” and “views can change.” Red Jacket, a member of the Seneca Nation, brought his upbringing from Seneca rhetorical culture to make his speeches effective through careful listening.
The most speechwriter comments come on FDR’s “Four Freedoms” speech where Rhodes tells us it’s better to give the audience what they need not what they want: “I worked on eight State of the Union speeches and we had to find eight different ways to declare the state of the union strong even when it wasn’t.” But it’s not really up to the speechwriter; FDR’s ‘candor’ made the speech work in the end.
Lincoln’s second inaugural, a strange inclusion as “Cooper Union” would be a better pairing with Alexander Stephen’s “Cornerstone” address advocating white supremacy and slavery, is chalked up to Lincoln’s divine inspiration and religious feelings. Rhodes tries to match both Stephens and Lincoln as interpreters of the Bible, when a better argument would be Lincoln as upholding the constitution versus a religious-based regime. Regardless, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural, as well as the Cooper Union speech, have received a dearth of scholarly treatment. But this is immaterial to Rhodes. Such speeches, again, are not a result of good strategy regarding an audience; they speak hard truths and erupt in deep beliefs of the speakers that are being carried through the currents of historical events.
Ronald Reagan’s speech in Orlando captured the conservative moment perfectly in a symbolic location for conservatives, but this is an effect of Reagan’s singular abilities as a speaker. Likewise, Barack Obama’s unique position as a black man, a Senator, and a Presidential candidate led him to speak in a way that only he could about race and politics. Rhodes does offer a bit of his own rhetorical theory here, writing that his “job required me to live inside Obama’s head, to understand his worldview.” A speechwriter, therefore, needs no other muse than authenticity and connection to the speaker’s beliefs.
Rhodes also consistently makes the argument that these speeches are significant because the speakers were unique. Rhodes loves to describe speeches as transcendent and speakers as either prophets or prophetic. In the selection of Maria Stewart’s speech at Boston’s Masonic Hall and Frederick Douglas’s address, “Composite Nation,” both speakers’ success is because they are prophetic, or prophets. Even so, Rhodes assures us that his edit of Douglas’s speech is just the “main arguments,” without any explanation of how he determined what mattered and what didn’t. Is it that careful speech-craft led us to believe they are prophets, that their message is at the level of religious revelation? Or did they know something about their audience, either in person or in the press, that they made use of? Rhodes doesn’t answer any questions like this. He prefers to let the speeches stand as evidence that he is right about his account of American history orbiting around the question of identity.
In the end, we are left as observers to this important question, how it has been answered and asked through the history of the country without any real insight into these speeches as choices of wording, style, or delivery. Not much is said about audience; I think Rhodes believes his historical narratives serve that purpose. But he misses key moments that could really demonstrate to the reader that writing and delivering a speech is a choice about how to center, frame, and offer an attitude about something. There are many ways to describe a situation, to account for someone’s motives, and to encourage others to change their minds. It’s this insight from Ben Rhodes that the book is missing, and it is presumptively why he was able to get it published. At the end of the book, he laments contemporary politics. Following an Obama speech with a Trump speech might seem like necessary salesmanship at first glance, but for Rhodes it’s the ultimate contrast. He casts doubt we will ever get back to a place where American identity is based on laws, rights, and due process not on territory and racial identity. He strangely says that this question is in our country’s DNA (not much a speech can do to change genetics) and offers us this volume as cold comfort for times like ours. We are left with a feeling that speeches can serve as evidence of the tidal forces of history but cannot do much at all to alter it. It’s a strange thing to think from the perspective of rhetoric.
Rhodes is neither a historian nor a rhetorician. He would have more hope if he was the latter. He would also have offered a book that was more a speech anthology than a nostalgic argument. As David Murray recently wrote about Rhodes’s book, “Who in the world is reading these?” As a professor of rhetoric, I can say that it’s probably only me and a few friends. I fully expect to receive more than one copy of All We Say as a gift this year for this event or that. But it begs the question that the anthologies are to be read. They are meant to inspire, to provide kindling, to serve a more important purpose than what they appear.
It wouldn’t be hyperbole argue that the printed anthology of speeches is synonymous with education in the United States. To this day, high school students participate in declamation contests, performing political or culturally significant speeches from memory that someone decided should be in the kind of anthology Rhodes does not offer. Some of you might remember having to memorize a Presidential speech, or part of one, as a civics assignment in school. Anthologies are meant for teaching us how to speak ourselves. It’s important to note that every anthology is a selection, and a deflection, of an understanding of great speech. They are necessary because by reading them we get to participate as audiences did at that time: Why was this good? Why say it that way? What could this speaker be trying to do? Speech anthologies are storehouses not of information, but of the catalysts to doing it ourselves. Speaking our minds is vital in the maintenance and long-term health of democracy.
The most historically important speech anthology in American history was Caleb Bingham’s The Columbian Orator first published in 1797. This collection of speeches is mostly left alone, aside from Bingham’s introductory ‘rules’ which set out what a good speech is and how to master the art. Young Fredrick Douglas encountered this book and credited the anthology for providing him the start of his oratorical career. Lincoln also gave this book a lot of credit. Bingham published it because he believed libraries, at least those we could easily access, were rare and this volume would serve as a kind of mobile library. Its role isn’t to be passively read, but engaged directly, to be spoken aloud, to be embraced. As David Blight, the editor of the most recent iteration of Bingham’s book wrote in the introduction to that text:
In an age when there is good reason to lament the decline of oratory and to fear for the future of the book in the face of the power of visual and electronic media, this elocution manual/reader lends us reassurance from the past. Like lost treasure, some old books can reemerge in the present and matter as much now as they did when they were new commodities in American classrooms. The image of young Frederick Douglass hiding in his loft practicing reading and speaking from his Columbian Orator is far more inspiring than it is quaint. Indeed, those concerned in American society today with how young people garner and practice good habits and virtues in the face of so much popular culture vying for their attention might benefit from a slow examination of Bingham's reader. They might even wish to make the book talk by reading the dialogues and speeches out loud, as a family no doubt did in the pre-visual, pre-electronic age of the early nineteenth century. As Douglass did, they will find both music and political meaning in the language.
Anthologies are not meant to be admired, but to be practiced. Well, maybe a little of both in the case of William Safire’s hefty Lend me Your Ears, where the history of global public address is sifted for those speeches that meet his ten-part rubric: A good handshake with the audience, via language; give them some structure (he calls this ‘shapeliness’), a pulse or movement, occasion, forum, focus, phrase, purpose, theme, and delivery. If a speech does all these things well, it gets into this massive volume no matter what the original language, place, or time. Safire’s introduction is there, and brief gloss on each speech, to help steer us through the gallery. But the focus is on art, not the curator.
Rhodes focus is on the curator. He lowers expectations for even his own readers: “Something has been lost: the capacity to listen to an entire argument.” An odd take for a podcaster and speechwriter to be sure. He has three criteria for inclusion for his fifteen speeches. “The speech must be authentic: The speaker should be the only person able to deliver it.” He violates this principle in speech one, sharing a Benjamin Franklin speech that was not delivered by Franklin, but written by him. By that standard, should Obama be included if Rhodes and the speechwriting team wrote the speech in this volume? It's unclear what he means. Rhodes tells us that good speeches are part of “the unseen power of a movement.” Difficult to prove let alone harness power that nobody can detect to inspire or contextualize a speech. How can a speech identify and use such power? Finally, a speech must “capture the distributive media of the times.” for Rhodes, this is the oversimplistic positivist progression from live audience, to newspaper, to radio, to television. Most of us catch speeches in fragments - quotes from historical speeches, tik tok clips for those from today, or a sound bite on a morning news program or podcast. But Rhodes doesn’t mention this kind of reception. He tells us, “By learning from these words spoken in the past we are reminded that history is a living thing and that we have the capacity to change it.” We never get any insight, tools, or speculation as to how speechwriters or orators engage in such a challenging task from Rhodes. It seems by the end he's convinced himself there's little we can do but wait for the changing tides of discourse to save us.
The book does make sense given Rhodes’s beliefs: If we have no capacity to engage the world with speech, there’s not much reason to leave it to speak for itself. Speech isn’t the image for Rhodes; it is the reflection. It is the trace not the hand holding the pencil. His selection criteria treats speech as the effect of larger historical forces, not really making much impact on them at all. Lincoln, Reagan, Stephens, Stewart – they all were in tune with the historical forces of their time and were able to express them in a way that survived historical lacunae. Surely there is some active choice and judgement involved in speech-craft?
Regardless of the selection criteria, It would be much more interesting to hear the opinion of a professional speechwriter, who has been writing in difficult situations, where one turns when one needs an argument, a change of direction, or how to confront an attitude among the audience that forecloses the claim the speaker wishes to make. These kinds of technical, operational insights are missing from Rhodes’s book. Instead, we are to see these speeches as evidence that Rhodes is right, that Americans cannot stop talking about American identity. Or Rhodes could enter the cottage industry of former Obama speechwriters who are all writing books based on this ethos with a variety of degrees of reliance on it. None of them are about speech writing itself, apart from Terry Suzplat’s Say it Well. This book, masking as an anthology, does an injustice to that genre and to the fully formed argument that Rhodes could have made, had he simply written an argumentative book and not felt he needed to include the transcripts.
Where the book really suffers and should be more like an anthology is the lack of any speechwriter analysis here. As a professional academic rhetorician, I don’t expect Rhodes to be doing anything I’d see in a scholarly treatment. But it doesn’t help the reader appreciate the power of a speech if everyone giving a meaningful one is a “prophet” or inspired by forces we can’t see nor account for. There have to be contextual gestures, at the very least, to think like audience, occasion, and attitude toward the issue being addressed. A little goes a long way. For example, Rhodes tells us that Maria Stewart’s profound address in Boston mixed personal hardships from white supremacy with the “currents of Black thought and activism” but we “don’t know how . . . the speech was received that night.” A look at the chapter on this speech in Kristin Waters’s 2022 book on Stewart tells us that, “The African Masonic Hall, the creation of an exclusively Black and male organization, was the setting for Maria Stewart’s lecture on African rights and liberty indicates both her ascendance into the community’s regard and the degree to which resources were shared.” This is the kind of information I would think a speechwriter, looking at how a speech came to be, would share. This kind of attention to occasion, setting, and purpose should light Rhodes’s professional speechwriter perspective on fire, giving us all he would consider a speechwriter would have access to, what would be out of bounds, and what would necessarily need to be included. But we don’t get any of that. Rhodes leans heavily on Waters’s book but never brings these details to the foreground. Although Rhodes might believe these speeches are somehow influencing history, his approach makes speeches feel like effects of history instead of significant participants.
Rhodes instead has the speeches serve as evidence that his historical perspective is right. This is the wrong direction for either anthology or a political argument informed by someone familiar with the principles and practice of good political speech-writing. It splits the middle and probably will upset those who want to evaluate an exhibit of historical speeches and those who are used to Rhodes’s podcast, seeking a sharp-edged argument about American history. However, Rhodes should be commended for the inclusion of speeches that are ignored by many, such as Maria Stewart, Delores Huerta, and Anna Dickson. It makes me wish he had approached the book as a deep dive into American oratory, with a title like Why Didn’t We Listen? His examination of such speeches would be a welcome addition to public address. But he isn’t interested in that. His selection is to prove that he is right, that one day the pendulum will swing back from heritage and territory to due process and rights as being the center of American identity. But he has no suggestions on how to get there, or what any of us could do to influence this change.
I fully expect one day to browse the “Former Obama Speechwriter” section of Barnes & Noble and encounter the follow up volume, More Than All We Say, or We Keep Saying More which I am sure is in outline or draft form as we speak. This book will have appeal, and not just for Father’s Day or other awkward gift-giving obligations, such as to a speech professor you really liked. It will be on office bookshelves and coffee tables, and I hope it will spark some conversation. Rhodes thesis is not bad. It just deserves better treatment. And Rhodes has all the ability to treat it in an enlightening and compelling way: Speak about these speeches as a professional speechwriter for the job where speech matters most. Either that or step out of the way after introducing them and let us encounter them and be amazed, as I’m sure Ben Rhodes was when he first read these. The best speech anthologies are arguments for excellence. We don't always agree. They should be like taking your snooty 16-year-old nephew or niece to the art museum – “Pshhhh, I could do that!” More hopeful than any distant reverence or remarks on the uniqueness of the work, this reaction is the hopeful one. For we should all encounter anthologized speeches and wonder why they are so special. We should all believe that we too can speak when times are tough and be remembered for our small parts in keeping democracy going.
July 10, 2026
All we say by Ben Rhodes is a historical narrative about America’s internal struggle to define itself and its people, traced through consequential speeches.
Rhodes makes the argument that America has fundamentally been embroiled in a contradiction of its own narrative since its founding, when despite declaring that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”, women, black people, natives, etc. were all treated as sub-class citizens or non-citizens altogether. This immediate failure to live with our own ideals is at a difficult odds with the fact that despite these shortcomings, early America was still wildly more democratic than basically the entire rest of the world. So America had made an enormous stride forward, and yet still came up devastatingly short of our own convictions.
This gap between what we claim we are or what we want to be versus who we are in practice has encapsulated American debate generation after generation through present day. What does it mean to be American and how do we decide? How do we reckon with all the great deeds that this country has done without understanding its catastrophes?
Rhodes explains that throughout its history, the white, Christian-nationalist block of Americans has consistently believed that American exceptionalism was some kind of ethereal gift bestowed upon our founders, and that it was inherent and never-changing. That who and what America was is its purest form, and any deviation from that is at odds with its exceptionalism. Progressives on the other hand believed that American exceptionalism is rooted in this country’s eternal struggle to close the gap between what the world is and what we want it to be. That we are great not only because our founders established a constitutional system that can be changed over time, but that we actually use this system and push it to its limits every generation to become more just and more compassionate.
The title of this book is beautiful, simple, and double-ended. “All We Say” obviously refers to all that we have said through our speeches throughout our history. But it’s also a direct reference to a quote MLK said on the night before he was assassinated: “All we say to America is be true to what you said on paper”, which I think aptly illustrates the struggle described in this book.
Rhodes makes the argument that America has fundamentally been embroiled in a contradiction of its own narrative since its founding, when despite declaring that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”, women, black people, natives, etc. were all treated as sub-class citizens or non-citizens altogether. This immediate failure to live with our own ideals is at a difficult odds with the fact that despite these shortcomings, early America was still wildly more democratic than basically the entire rest of the world. So America had made an enormous stride forward, and yet still came up devastatingly short of our own convictions.
This gap between what we claim we are or what we want to be versus who we are in practice has encapsulated American debate generation after generation through present day. What does it mean to be American and how do we decide? How do we reckon with all the great deeds that this country has done without understanding its catastrophes?
Rhodes explains that throughout its history, the white, Christian-nationalist block of Americans has consistently believed that American exceptionalism was some kind of ethereal gift bestowed upon our founders, and that it was inherent and never-changing. That who and what America was is its purest form, and any deviation from that is at odds with its exceptionalism. Progressives on the other hand believed that American exceptionalism is rooted in this country’s eternal struggle to close the gap between what the world is and what we want it to be. That we are great not only because our founders established a constitutional system that can be changed over time, but that we actually use this system and push it to its limits every generation to become more just and more compassionate.
The title of this book is beautiful, simple, and double-ended. “All We Say” obviously refers to all that we have said through our speeches throughout our history. But it’s also a direct reference to a quote MLK said on the night before he was assassinated: “All we say to America is be true to what you said on paper”, which I think aptly illustrates the struggle described in this book.
July 6, 2026
A great timeline of United States history told through a series of speeches, also highlighting where the pendulums may swing throughout history.
The most nauseating sequence was the end, focusing on Donald Trump’s second inauguration, which stands to be one of the worst speeches made even worse when held in such close succession to speeches given by people with a knowledge of oration and a true love for this country (whether Republican, Democrat, or neither), compared to someone who stands only for himself and his vengeance.
Rhodes does a great job of analyzing each speech as well, coming from a wealth of experience. He breaks down not only the historical context and the intent, but the actual structure and effectiveness of said speeches. He also does a great job with the narration, along with the individual actors who do each speech.
The most nauseating sequence was the end, focusing on Donald Trump’s second inauguration, which stands to be one of the worst speeches made even worse when held in such close succession to speeches given by people with a knowledge of oration and a true love for this country (whether Republican, Democrat, or neither), compared to someone who stands only for himself and his vengeance.
Rhodes does a great job of analyzing each speech as well, coming from a wealth of experience. He breaks down not only the historical context and the intent, but the actual structure and effectiveness of said speeches. He also does a great job with the narration, along with the individual actors who do each speech.
June 20, 2026
This was an incredibly interesting dive into the historical context of some of our nation’s most impactful political speeches.
The arc of Benjamin Franklin to Abraham Lincoln to Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama and so many in between was truly fascinating.
I enjoyed learning more about the origins of the abolitionist, suffragette, and conservative/MAGA movements, and how history has the funniest way of repeating itself.
Ben Rhodes has done an excellent job with this latest book, though I have loved each of the books he has written.
Highly recommend this read for anyone struggling to better understand how we arrived at our current political climate.
The arc of Benjamin Franklin to Abraham Lincoln to Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama and so many in between was truly fascinating.
I enjoyed learning more about the origins of the abolitionist, suffragette, and conservative/MAGA movements, and how history has the funniest way of repeating itself.
Ben Rhodes has done an excellent job with this latest book, though I have loved each of the books he has written.
Highly recommend this read for anyone struggling to better understand how we arrived at our current political climate.
June 1, 2026
Rhodes gives us plenty to think about. It is all interesting as well as heartbreaking to see how far we have fallen in our ideals and our crusades for a better America, a better world.
I recommend this book, to be read slowly over time! My favorite chapter is the one about the Seneca Native Americans speaking about why they should not have to convert to the religion of the white men.
I recommend this book, to be read slowly over time! My favorite chapter is the one about the Seneca Native Americans speaking about why they should not have to convert to the religion of the white men.
July 3, 2026
This is an incredible look at the way speeches have been spoken to more than the original audience. This collection and curation by Ben Rhodes reveals the heart of the speaker and our nation at critical times. These are not simple “rah-rah yay America” speeches. They are an amalgamation of our worst behaviors and a call for our better angels.
I’m incredibly grateful for Rhodes building both context and relevancy to these often overlooked and/or over simplified speeches from American history.
I’m incredibly grateful for Rhodes building both context and relevancy to these often overlooked and/or over simplified speeches from American history.
July 7, 2026
I have read too many books lately that have made my brain hurt. None more than this one. I need a beach read.
That is probably the first thing I should say about All We Say. This book made me work. Ben Rhodes tells a history of American identity through fifteen speeches, beginning with Benjamin Franklin and ending with Donald Trump’s second inaugural address. In between are Red Jacket, Maria Stewart, Frederick Douglass, Alexander Stephens, Abraham Lincoln, Anna Dickinson, Mary Lease, Louis Brandeis, FDR, Martin Luther King Jr., Dolores Huerta, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and others. It is not a collection of heroes. Rhodes admires some of these people more than others, but he is interested in what they said, what they got right, what they failed to see, and how their words helped shape what America has imagined itself to be.
I loved the conversation this created. Maria Stewart sent me right back into the liberating theologies I had been teaching a few weeks earlier. She sounded like an ancestor of Howard Thurman and James Cone, a prophet of Black liberation before anyone had given the thing a name. Lincoln’s second inaugural began talking to Tananarive Due's The Reformatory in my head: the Civil War as judgment, the sword answering the lash, the haints of slavery as unresolved history. Frederick Douglass made me wish I had known his words about human rights and the right of “locomotion” years ago when I was writing about migration. Red Jacket brought questions from George Tinker and Richard Twiss back into the room and left me wondering, all the way to the end, whether a “composite nation” can fully account for the people whose nations were already here.
The book also created a conversation within itself that I found increasingly powerful. The founders declare that there are self-evident truths and unalienable rights. Douglass insists that “there is such a thing as human rights.” Lincoln places the nation under the judgment of God. FDR declares that certain freedoms belong to everyone, everywhere. King speaks of moral laws of the universe. Again and again, the best voices in this book appeal beyond the nation to something higher than the nation. America does not create these truths. At its best, it submits itself to them ... It chases them. Rhodes is emphatic, America must never stop chasing them.
That became personal for me. Rhodes argues that American exceptionalism is not something the country inherently possesses and progress is not inevitable. Whatever is exceptional about the American experiment lies in the pursuit: a composite nation gathered around words and promises, struggling in every generation to live up to them. I found myself thinking about my own life. If being a good man requires the sum total of my past to equal “good,” then I have to start lying. I have to explain away failures, rename them as successes, forget what is inconvenient and perhaps eventually believe my own BS. But maybe who I am is not simply the sum of what I have done. Maybe it is also revealed in what I do with the truth about what I have done: whether I learn, repent where necessary, and press on to take hold of that for which Christ has taken hold of me (I'm getting preachy, Rhodes isn't so much, but he does handle matters of faith exceptionally well).
The book also made me think hard about the relationship between prophets and politicians. Douglass and Lincoln. Randolph and FDR. King and Kennedy. I began asking what kind of ruler is willing to hear the prophet, what happens when the prophet is driven away, and what becomes of power when no one nearby is permitted to say, You are the man. Those questions followed me out of American history and directly into my own relationships with political leaders in Uganda. They forced me to examine my own role, my own compromises, and my responsibility to tell the truth to people I care about when that truth may be inconvenient. I did not expect a book about fifteen American speeches to do that to me.
My one persistent frustration was the Native American question. Rhodes deserves credit for placing Red Jacket near the beginning and for returning, even in his home run of an epilogue, to the cost that the birth of the United States imposed upon Native peoples. He does not hide from that history and injustice. But his idea of America as a creedal, composite nation still leaves questions that the book doesn't fully answer - perhaps it cannot possibly do so. What does that nation mean for peoples whose nations preceded it, whose identities are tied to particular lands and origin stories, and who never volunteered to become ingredients in the composite? Rhodes might have done more to acknowledge more explicitly that his argument leaves something unresolved there.
Still, this was an excellent book. More than that, it was fruitful. It sent me into other books, back into my own history, deeper into my faith, and toward difficult questions about my place in the world now. This is a book that I need to have a physical copy of in my library. This is a book I will actually gift -- and I NEVER do that.
Ok... Now for that beach read. Oh here's one on the failed promises of Reconstruction, that should be light.
That is probably the first thing I should say about All We Say. This book made me work. Ben Rhodes tells a history of American identity through fifteen speeches, beginning with Benjamin Franklin and ending with Donald Trump’s second inaugural address. In between are Red Jacket, Maria Stewart, Frederick Douglass, Alexander Stephens, Abraham Lincoln, Anna Dickinson, Mary Lease, Louis Brandeis, FDR, Martin Luther King Jr., Dolores Huerta, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and others. It is not a collection of heroes. Rhodes admires some of these people more than others, but he is interested in what they said, what they got right, what they failed to see, and how their words helped shape what America has imagined itself to be.
I loved the conversation this created. Maria Stewart sent me right back into the liberating theologies I had been teaching a few weeks earlier. She sounded like an ancestor of Howard Thurman and James Cone, a prophet of Black liberation before anyone had given the thing a name. Lincoln’s second inaugural began talking to Tananarive Due's The Reformatory in my head: the Civil War as judgment, the sword answering the lash, the haints of slavery as unresolved history. Frederick Douglass made me wish I had known his words about human rights and the right of “locomotion” years ago when I was writing about migration. Red Jacket brought questions from George Tinker and Richard Twiss back into the room and left me wondering, all the way to the end, whether a “composite nation” can fully account for the people whose nations were already here.
The book also created a conversation within itself that I found increasingly powerful. The founders declare that there are self-evident truths and unalienable rights. Douglass insists that “there is such a thing as human rights.” Lincoln places the nation under the judgment of God. FDR declares that certain freedoms belong to everyone, everywhere. King speaks of moral laws of the universe. Again and again, the best voices in this book appeal beyond the nation to something higher than the nation. America does not create these truths. At its best, it submits itself to them ... It chases them. Rhodes is emphatic, America must never stop chasing them.
That became personal for me. Rhodes argues that American exceptionalism is not something the country inherently possesses and progress is not inevitable. Whatever is exceptional about the American experiment lies in the pursuit: a composite nation gathered around words and promises, struggling in every generation to live up to them. I found myself thinking about my own life. If being a good man requires the sum total of my past to equal “good,” then I have to start lying. I have to explain away failures, rename them as successes, forget what is inconvenient and perhaps eventually believe my own BS. But maybe who I am is not simply the sum of what I have done. Maybe it is also revealed in what I do with the truth about what I have done: whether I learn, repent where necessary, and press on to take hold of that for which Christ has taken hold of me (I'm getting preachy, Rhodes isn't so much, but he does handle matters of faith exceptionally well).
The book also made me think hard about the relationship between prophets and politicians. Douglass and Lincoln. Randolph and FDR. King and Kennedy. I began asking what kind of ruler is willing to hear the prophet, what happens when the prophet is driven away, and what becomes of power when no one nearby is permitted to say, You are the man. Those questions followed me out of American history and directly into my own relationships with political leaders in Uganda. They forced me to examine my own role, my own compromises, and my responsibility to tell the truth to people I care about when that truth may be inconvenient. I did not expect a book about fifteen American speeches to do that to me.
My one persistent frustration was the Native American question. Rhodes deserves credit for placing Red Jacket near the beginning and for returning, even in his home run of an epilogue, to the cost that the birth of the United States imposed upon Native peoples. He does not hide from that history and injustice. But his idea of America as a creedal, composite nation still leaves questions that the book doesn't fully answer - perhaps it cannot possibly do so. What does that nation mean for peoples whose nations preceded it, whose identities are tied to particular lands and origin stories, and who never volunteered to become ingredients in the composite? Rhodes might have done more to acknowledge more explicitly that his argument leaves something unresolved there.
Still, this was an excellent book. More than that, it was fruitful. It sent me into other books, back into my own history, deeper into my faith, and toward difficult questions about my place in the world now. This is a book that I need to have a physical copy of in my library. This is a book I will actually gift -- and I NEVER do that.
Ok... Now for that beach read. Oh here's one on the failed promises of Reconstruction, that should be light.
June 13, 2026
This was a a strangely uplifting book to read and a good reminder that the trajectory of American history moving in a positive direction is neither inevitable nor possible without the tireless efforts of countless individuals.
Ben Rhodes, an Obama speechwriter, does a fantastic job of selecting 15 speeches from all points of history that run the gamut from obscure to famous ones ending with Donald Trump's 2nd Inaugural speech. Mr. Rhodes' theory of the case begins with Vice President J.D. Vance's somewhat obscure but disturbing speech at the Claremount Institute arguing how American is NOT a creedal nation but a nation of a particular group of people. This flew in the face of everything that I was ever taught about what makes the U.S. unique among nations. This book does a great job of showing how there has always been an undercurrent in American rhetoric that pushed back on this idea from the very beginning.
The first speech starts with Benjamin Franklin arguing in support of ratifying the U.S. Constitution by discussing how compromise is essential for bringing together 13 colonies that may have well been separate nations in how each was uniquely formed with their own separate cultures and customs. As the nineteenth century began, you began to see speeches from Native Americans explaining their reluctance to associate with U.S. settlers and speeches for and against slavery and how to reconcile slavery with the principles enshrined in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
I thought Mr. Rhodes' selection did an excellent job in highlighting how the battle of ideas of having America live up to its founding documents and reactionary forces has been a common thread woven throughout U.S. history. While speeches like Lincoln's Second Inaugural and Martin Luther King Jr.'s were still riveting, I was very moved by Frederick Douglas' A Composite Nation speech and fascinated by Louis Brandeis "Americansim" speech. Reading Ronald Reagan's speeches absent his flowery lilt and smooth tones revealed how he set the foundations for rightward reactionary forces that spiraled a generation after him. President Obama's speech introducing himself to the voters was a wonder summation of the ideas illustrated in prior speeches. Interwoven were excellent speeches from lesser known historical figures who were still stalwarts in their day who gave excellent speeches on speaking circuits such as Maria Stewart. Red Jacket's speech was a remarkable look at the various complexities Native Americans faces in dealing with the encroachment of U.S. settlers. He spoke simply and eloquently for his people while still dealing with Americans and in a bit of hypocritical self-interest. But it doesn't detract from the themes of his message for why they weren't enamored with western ways.
I also appreciated little explanations and contexts the preluded and postscripted each speech. I had no idea some of the arguments against American expansionism in the 19th century was a refusal to have Mexican descendants become U.S. citizens because we were "a nation for the white race," (however you define "white" nothwithstanding.)
Ending on Donald Trump's second inaugural could have been a real downer but taken in the whole of the book, I think it just had to end based on when this book was written. However, you see the ups and downs and I think it illustrates Mr. Rhodes' point that American history really requires these ideas to push us in the right direction repeatedly and to be prepared for negative reactionary forces at every turn. The upward path is not preordained but built on the powerful ideas from many of these speeches.
Ben Rhodes, an Obama speechwriter, does a fantastic job of selecting 15 speeches from all points of history that run the gamut from obscure to famous ones ending with Donald Trump's 2nd Inaugural speech. Mr. Rhodes' theory of the case begins with Vice President J.D. Vance's somewhat obscure but disturbing speech at the Claremount Institute arguing how American is NOT a creedal nation but a nation of a particular group of people. This flew in the face of everything that I was ever taught about what makes the U.S. unique among nations. This book does a great job of showing how there has always been an undercurrent in American rhetoric that pushed back on this idea from the very beginning.
The first speech starts with Benjamin Franklin arguing in support of ratifying the U.S. Constitution by discussing how compromise is essential for bringing together 13 colonies that may have well been separate nations in how each was uniquely formed with their own separate cultures and customs. As the nineteenth century began, you began to see speeches from Native Americans explaining their reluctance to associate with U.S. settlers and speeches for and against slavery and how to reconcile slavery with the principles enshrined in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
I thought Mr. Rhodes' selection did an excellent job in highlighting how the battle of ideas of having America live up to its founding documents and reactionary forces has been a common thread woven throughout U.S. history. While speeches like Lincoln's Second Inaugural and Martin Luther King Jr.'s were still riveting, I was very moved by Frederick Douglas' A Composite Nation speech and fascinated by Louis Brandeis "Americansim" speech. Reading Ronald Reagan's speeches absent his flowery lilt and smooth tones revealed how he set the foundations for rightward reactionary forces that spiraled a generation after him. President Obama's speech introducing himself to the voters was a wonder summation of the ideas illustrated in prior speeches. Interwoven were excellent speeches from lesser known historical figures who were still stalwarts in their day who gave excellent speeches on speaking circuits such as Maria Stewart. Red Jacket's speech was a remarkable look at the various complexities Native Americans faces in dealing with the encroachment of U.S. settlers. He spoke simply and eloquently for his people while still dealing with Americans and in a bit of hypocritical self-interest. But it doesn't detract from the themes of his message for why they weren't enamored with western ways.
I also appreciated little explanations and contexts the preluded and postscripted each speech. I had no idea some of the arguments against American expansionism in the 19th century was a refusal to have Mexican descendants become U.S. citizens because we were "a nation for the white race," (however you define "white" nothwithstanding.)
Ending on Donald Trump's second inaugural could have been a real downer but taken in the whole of the book, I think it just had to end based on when this book was written. However, you see the ups and downs and I think it illustrates Mr. Rhodes' point that American history really requires these ideas to push us in the right direction repeatedly and to be prepared for negative reactionary forces at every turn. The upward path is not preordained but built on the powerful ideas from many of these speeches.
July 3, 2026
What are the elements that make me dive right into a newly published work of non-fiction? The author is surely a prime consideration, followed closely by the subject matter of the book. I know Ben Rhodes as a commentator on MSNOW (formerly MSNBC) and have always found his contributions to any discussion to be both on point and educational. He is always introduced as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama. They don’t mention that he was part of the speechwriting team—along with Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, and Jon Lovett. He is now featured on the YouTube channel Crooked Media with his own podcast, Pod Save the World.
The rather long, complete title of this book is All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches. The book provides insight into American history’s continuous challenge to define who we are as a people—are we still disparate bodies (once colonies, now states) trying to compromise as Benjamin Franklin advised? Or are we a nation, as we tell ourselves we are? Through the 15 selected speeches, Rhodes presents us with a different way to look at United States history, thus upending some long‑held beliefs about the American identity.
Although All We Say covers speeches beyond the founding, I was particularly struck by one speech—that of Red Jacket, a Seneca Chief—given in response to Reverend Cram, who was attempting to convert the Native Americans of the Six Nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora, collectively called the Haudenosaunee—or Iroquois, as they were often known—to Christianity. Here is a small excerpt from that speech that encapsulates the nature of the meeting:
“…an evil day came upon us; your forefathers crossed the great waters, and landed on this island. Their numbers were small; they found friends, and not enemies; they told us they had fled from their own country for fear of wicked men, and come here to enjoy their religion. They asked for a small seat; we took pity on them, granted their request, and they sat down amongst us; we gave them corn and meat; they gave us poison in return.”
By compiling not only the speeches of the famous but also those of mostly unknown orators whose actions and words had a profound effect on American history—and by putting them in context—Rhodes presents a compelling argument for reexamining the history we have been taught and the historical myths so many believe.
All We Say is responsible for sending me to YouTube to rewatch Nicolle Wallace’s podcast The Best People, where she talks with Ken Burns about his documentary The American Revolution, which of course led me to rewatch all six episodes. I was hoping to find Red Jacket in the film, but the speech was given in 1805—after the Revolution, after the formation of the nation, after George Washington established the peaceful transfer of power. It’s hard to keep the chronology straight, so refreshers are always beneficial.
All We Say provides a glimpse into the lives and words of 15 people throughout our history—all asking us to examine who we think we are as a people.
I know there are more new non-fiction books about today’s politics and what has led us to this moment in history. I want to read them all, but that would leave time for little else. If you have to choose among them, All We Say should definitely be one of them.
I also recommend watching Author Talk: Ben Rhodes — All We Say, with Susan Page, on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVFAS...
The rather long, complete title of this book is All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches. The book provides insight into American history’s continuous challenge to define who we are as a people—are we still disparate bodies (once colonies, now states) trying to compromise as Benjamin Franklin advised? Or are we a nation, as we tell ourselves we are? Through the 15 selected speeches, Rhodes presents us with a different way to look at United States history, thus upending some long‑held beliefs about the American identity.
Although All We Say covers speeches beyond the founding, I was particularly struck by one speech—that of Red Jacket, a Seneca Chief—given in response to Reverend Cram, who was attempting to convert the Native Americans of the Six Nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora, collectively called the Haudenosaunee—or Iroquois, as they were often known—to Christianity. Here is a small excerpt from that speech that encapsulates the nature of the meeting:
“…an evil day came upon us; your forefathers crossed the great waters, and landed on this island. Their numbers were small; they found friends, and not enemies; they told us they had fled from their own country for fear of wicked men, and come here to enjoy their religion. They asked for a small seat; we took pity on them, granted their request, and they sat down amongst us; we gave them corn and meat; they gave us poison in return.”
By compiling not only the speeches of the famous but also those of mostly unknown orators whose actions and words had a profound effect on American history—and by putting them in context—Rhodes presents a compelling argument for reexamining the history we have been taught and the historical myths so many believe.
All We Say is responsible for sending me to YouTube to rewatch Nicolle Wallace’s podcast The Best People, where she talks with Ken Burns about his documentary The American Revolution, which of course led me to rewatch all six episodes. I was hoping to find Red Jacket in the film, but the speech was given in 1805—after the Revolution, after the formation of the nation, after George Washington established the peaceful transfer of power. It’s hard to keep the chronology straight, so refreshers are always beneficial.
All We Say provides a glimpse into the lives and words of 15 people throughout our history—all asking us to examine who we think we are as a people.
I know there are more new non-fiction books about today’s politics and what has led us to this moment in history. I want to read them all, but that would leave time for little else. If you have to choose among them, All We Say should definitely be one of them.
I also recommend watching Author Talk: Ben Rhodes — All We Say, with Susan Page, on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVFAS...
July 1, 2026
I didn't realize that I would finish this on the eve of the US's 250th but I think it was a good journey through the country's evolution going into the holiday. Although I am well aware of Ben Rhodes' political beliefs (PSW is the only Crooked pod I still listen to these days) I appreciate that this book didn't become overly idealogical in its commentary nor overly technical about the process of speechwriting. Instead of partisan punditry Rhodes provided the speeches as they were written and inserted relevant context of the age those speeches were given.
Yes, it's a non-fiction, without scholarly guardrails, so it wasn't hard to know what perspective from which Ben wrote. I appreciated that he didn't shy away from speeches given by people that he (and I) vehemently disagree with politically. The true point of this book is a journey - not necessarily an expansive trip, he did this in 15 speeches - through the history of the United States and I think he succeeded. I'm sure most readers who are picking up this book are political junkies or armchair students of history and probably have 100s of other speeches they think should have made the cut - for me I think Washington's Farewell address from 1796, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Seneca Falls speech "Declaration of Sentiments," W.E.B. Du Bois' "Returning Soldiers" and Newt Gingrich's 1995 "Contract With America" would have be great additions. But I think Rhodes did a great job in choosing a diverse array of speeches to highlight major moments that as the book moved through arc of US history. I listened to the audiobook edition and the producers did a marvelous job of choosing narrators to read the text of the speeches - it was a great way to break up each chapter and gave a bit of personality to each speech.
My only complaint came towards the end of the book where we transition from Obama to Trump where the linear nature of the overall analysis seems to get muddled. I wish the discussion on the Bushes and the rise of the hard right like Rush Limbaugh was better woven into the Obama chapter. It was kind of a shock to listen to Trump's speech and then go back to the dichotomy of the H.W. Bush era for commentary. As an elder millennial, I vividly remember the rise of ultra-conservative politics happening along side the rise of the left's big-tent hope & change message. The complicated electoral sentiments of the late 80s and 90s felt almost like it was siloed away from the context of the Regan and Clinton eras. But that's the only thing I would change, otherwise I really enjoyed the book overall.
Yes, it's a non-fiction, without scholarly guardrails, so it wasn't hard to know what perspective from which Ben wrote. I appreciated that he didn't shy away from speeches given by people that he (and I) vehemently disagree with politically. The true point of this book is a journey - not necessarily an expansive trip, he did this in 15 speeches - through the history of the United States and I think he succeeded. I'm sure most readers who are picking up this book are political junkies or armchair students of history and probably have 100s of other speeches they think should have made the cut - for me I think Washington's Farewell address from 1796, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Seneca Falls speech "Declaration of Sentiments," W.E.B. Du Bois' "Returning Soldiers" and Newt Gingrich's 1995 "Contract With America" would have be great additions. But I think Rhodes did a great job in choosing a diverse array of speeches to highlight major moments that as the book moved through arc of US history. I listened to the audiobook edition and the producers did a marvelous job of choosing narrators to read the text of the speeches - it was a great way to break up each chapter and gave a bit of personality to each speech.
My only complaint came towards the end of the book where we transition from Obama to Trump where the linear nature of the overall analysis seems to get muddled. I wish the discussion on the Bushes and the rise of the hard right like Rush Limbaugh was better woven into the Obama chapter. It was kind of a shock to listen to Trump's speech and then go back to the dichotomy of the H.W. Bush era for commentary. As an elder millennial, I vividly remember the rise of ultra-conservative politics happening along side the rise of the left's big-tent hope & change message. The complicated electoral sentiments of the late 80s and 90s felt almost like it was siloed away from the context of the Regan and Clinton eras. But that's the only thing I would change, otherwise I really enjoyed the book overall.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What does it mean to be American? And who gets to decide? from All We Say by Ben Rhodes
Fifteen speeches from across American history illustrate the progressing and shifting views on who gets to be called American and who gets to claim the rights of a citizenship. Rhode’s choices reflect the historical conflicts, from the Revolution to the current administration. The history shows both the progress of inclusion and the reactionary limiting of rights.
He begins with Benjamin Franklin willing to compromise over slavery, noting that views can and will change. He moves on to Native American Red Jacket, African Americans Maria Stewart and Frederick Douglas, and suffragette Anna Dickinson. He includes Southern white supremist slave owner Alexander Stephens and Abraham Lincoln.
The populist Mary Lease attacked a government controlled by Wall Street during the Gilded Age. “It is no longer a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, but a government of Wall Street, by Wall Street, and for Wall Street,” she proclaimed.
History swings back and forth. Action, reaction.
Reformers arose. Louis Brandies promoted change for the working class and supported immigrants. Franklin Roosevelt asserted four freedoms were basic to a healthy democracy. Martin Luther King dreamed of racial harmony. Dolores Huerta organized farm laborers.
The turmoil of the 60s brought Ronald Reagan’s coalition in reaction to “a Godless bureaucracy”, but also signed immigration reform allowing undocumented people legal status. Barack Obama returned to a dream of inclusion, unity, and the end of divisive politics. And of course, the backlash resulted in the rise of Donald J. Trump, whose second inaugural speech spelled out a desire to resurrect a 19th c America and claimed complete power.
Progress is not preordained, Rhodes concludes, and our success as a wealthy and powerful nation does not mean we have become a better nation. “The progress we have made, the fairness and equality that has been achieved, has never been inevitable–most often, it has been won through extraordinary efforts that were synergistic with extraordinary words.”
A thoughtful book that both inspired and caused me to soberly consider where we are as a country.
Thanks to Random House for a free book through NetGalley.
Fifteen speeches from across American history illustrate the progressing and shifting views on who gets to be called American and who gets to claim the rights of a citizenship. Rhode’s choices reflect the historical conflicts, from the Revolution to the current administration. The history shows both the progress of inclusion and the reactionary limiting of rights.
He begins with Benjamin Franklin willing to compromise over slavery, noting that views can and will change. He moves on to Native American Red Jacket, African Americans Maria Stewart and Frederick Douglas, and suffragette Anna Dickinson. He includes Southern white supremist slave owner Alexander Stephens and Abraham Lincoln.
The populist Mary Lease attacked a government controlled by Wall Street during the Gilded Age. “It is no longer a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, but a government of Wall Street, by Wall Street, and for Wall Street,” she proclaimed.
History swings back and forth. Action, reaction.
Reformers arose. Louis Brandies promoted change for the working class and supported immigrants. Franklin Roosevelt asserted four freedoms were basic to a healthy democracy. Martin Luther King dreamed of racial harmony. Dolores Huerta organized farm laborers.
The turmoil of the 60s brought Ronald Reagan’s coalition in reaction to “a Godless bureaucracy”, but also signed immigration reform allowing undocumented people legal status. Barack Obama returned to a dream of inclusion, unity, and the end of divisive politics. And of course, the backlash resulted in the rise of Donald J. Trump, whose second inaugural speech spelled out a desire to resurrect a 19th c America and claimed complete power.
Progress is not preordained, Rhodes concludes, and our success as a wealthy and powerful nation does not mean we have become a better nation. “The progress we have made, the fairness and equality that has been achieved, has never been inevitable–most often, it has been won through extraordinary efforts that were synergistic with extraordinary words.”
A thoughtful book that both inspired and caused me to soberly consider where we are as a country.
Thanks to Random House for a free book through NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book is so much more than the 15 speeches it shares. The author does an incredible job of building background for the reader, elaborating on the speaker's life experiences, the policies and atmosphere of the country at the time, and interpretations + reactions to each speech. While it's clear what the author believes about American identity (which you can probably infer without even reading since he was a speechwriter for Obama), I found that he still put in the effort to ensure a full perspective was provided to credit the logic of individual positions and the nuances that stemmed from national and international experiences at the time.
The book is split into 3 sections with 5 speeches in each: I. American Foundations: Revolution to Civil War, 2. What Kind of Nation: Radical Republic to Superpower, and 3. Contested Nation: Civil Rights to MAGA. While some are typical heavy hitters, others are speeches that I'm shocked to not have learned before (e.g., Alexander Stephens' Cornerstone speech). It was fascinating to travel through American history via these speeches and see the build up to the issues we face now as they were mirrored throughout the country's history. It's very clear that defining American identity is a long and ongoing endeavor; this book helps drive home the point that we have never really felt settled into one American identity and our modern struggles with this are not new.
The book is split into 3 sections with 5 speeches in each: I. American Foundations: Revolution to Civil War, 2. What Kind of Nation: Radical Republic to Superpower, and 3. Contested Nation: Civil Rights to MAGA. While some are typical heavy hitters, others are speeches that I'm shocked to not have learned before (e.g., Alexander Stephens' Cornerstone speech). It was fascinating to travel through American history via these speeches and see the build up to the issues we face now as they were mirrored throughout the country's history. It's very clear that defining American identity is a long and ongoing endeavor; this book helps drive home the point that we have never really felt settled into one American identity and our modern struggles with this are not new.
June 1, 2026
I think Ben Rhodes is one of the better political commentators writing today. He understands national security, foreign policy, and America’s role in the world in a way that usually makes him worth listening to.
Unfortunately, I also have a habit of reading books that I suspect are not quite going to work for me, and this ended up being one of them. The premise is interesting, and there are plenty of thoughtful insights throughout. Rhodes uses fifteen speeches from American history as a way to examine the country’s past, present, and possible future. At its best, the book offers sharp analysis and a sincere concern for where America is headed.
But for me, the structure also became the problem. Because the book moves across so many different speeches, moments, and historical episodes, it started to feel more like a loose compendium than a focused argument. I kept waiting for the larger point to gather momentum, but instead the book became more general as it went along.
That is something that tends to frustrate me in books like this. There may be a lot of worthwhile observations, but when the scope gets too broad, the impact becomes harder to hold onto. I finished the book feeling that Rhodes had said many smart things, but I was not left with one clear, lasting takeaway.
So while I still think Ben Rhodes is a smart and valuable voice, this particular book did not connect with me as strongly as I hoped it would.
Unfortunately, I also have a habit of reading books that I suspect are not quite going to work for me, and this ended up being one of them. The premise is interesting, and there are plenty of thoughtful insights throughout. Rhodes uses fifteen speeches from American history as a way to examine the country’s past, present, and possible future. At its best, the book offers sharp analysis and a sincere concern for where America is headed.
But for me, the structure also became the problem. Because the book moves across so many different speeches, moments, and historical episodes, it started to feel more like a loose compendium than a focused argument. I kept waiting for the larger point to gather momentum, but instead the book became more general as it went along.
That is something that tends to frustrate me in books like this. There may be a lot of worthwhile observations, but when the scope gets too broad, the impact becomes harder to hold onto. I finished the book feeling that Rhodes had said many smart things, but I was not left with one clear, lasting takeaway.
So while I still think Ben Rhodes is a smart and valuable voice, this particular book did not connect with me as strongly as I hoped it would.
June 6, 2026
Abraham Lincoln will long be remembered for a two-minute speech in November 1863 defining what it really means to be an American. One of America's historically greatest orators, Edward Everett Hale, even later compared his own two-hour speech at Gettysburg quite unfavorably to that given by Lincoln. The simple lesson from that example is just how important speeches have been throughout American history. After all, who can ever forget Martin Luther King's dramatic words in August 1963 on the Washington Mall. Or Dwight Eisenhower's cautionary words in 1960 about the "military-industrial complex." And so many others too frequent to list here. Now an accomplished speech-writer has cataloged fifteen speeches by a divergent group that all had some dramatic effect on our country. The orators range from Ronald Reagan and Louis Brandeis to Frederick Douglass, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Barack Obama. I honestly can not agree with all of them. Maybe even a few are somewhat forgettable. But they all had some dramatic impact following their delivery. Rhodes has, however, compiled many that will require reading on more than one occasion. This is a book worth adding permanently to any reader's bookshelves. And opened and re-read as the appropriate occasion warrants.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I absolutely loved All We Say! It's a unique format, written by an Obama speechwriter. I've followed Ben's work for about 8 or 9 years...since he joined the Crooked Media family and co-hosting Pod Save the World. He's absolutely brilliant, compassionate, fair, and thoughtful.
The book includes fifteen speeches and their history from the time of Benjamin Franklin to the 47th president. He divided the book into three parts: American Foundations: Revolution to Civil War; What Kind of Nation: Radical Republic to Superpower; and Contested Nation: Civil Rights to MAGA.
He introduced me to a few people with whom I wasn't familiar (Red Jacket, Anna Dickenson, and Mary Lease). I also learned about people whose names I'd heard but knew little (Alexander Stephens and Louis Brandeis).
The book isn't just speeches; it includes biographical information about the speaker, how the speech was influenced by and made an impact on (then) current events, and how and/or why it was written. If you're at all interested in history or politics, or learning more about either, I strongly encourage you to read All We Say. Thanks to Net Galley for an advance copy.
The book includes fifteen speeches and their history from the time of Benjamin Franklin to the 47th president. He divided the book into three parts: American Foundations: Revolution to Civil War; What Kind of Nation: Radical Republic to Superpower; and Contested Nation: Civil Rights to MAGA.
He introduced me to a few people with whom I wasn't familiar (Red Jacket, Anna Dickenson, and Mary Lease). I also learned about people whose names I'd heard but knew little (Alexander Stephens and Louis Brandeis).
The book isn't just speeches; it includes biographical information about the speaker, how the speech was influenced by and made an impact on (then) current events, and how and/or why it was written. If you're at all interested in history or politics, or learning more about either, I strongly encourage you to read All We Say. Thanks to Net Galley for an advance copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The year 2026 is a particularly good time for reflection on how America started and evolved into what it is today. In each chapter he chooses a speech that was important in its time, His first choice was Benjamin Franklin addressing the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, near the end of his life. Rhodes serves up the speech with a substantial explication of what was said and what it means in the whole picture.
Next he chooses the rebuttal that a Seneca spokesman wrote to a missionary wanting the tribe to adopt Christianity. It was particularly fun to read how the Native American way of life is superior to their European oriented neighbors. Then he included a speech from a free African American woman exhorting black men to get up and fight for their rights - reminding them that knowledge was poer. In each case, Rhodes makes a thoughtful selection and a substantial but highly readable summary. As the book progresses, he concentrates on presidents - finishing with speeches by Reagan, Obama and Trump. It is a thoughtful history course in one package.
Next he chooses the rebuttal that a Seneca spokesman wrote to a missionary wanting the tribe to adopt Christianity. It was particularly fun to read how the Native American way of life is superior to their European oriented neighbors. Then he included a speech from a free African American woman exhorting black men to get up and fight for their rights - reminding them that knowledge was poer. In each case, Rhodes makes a thoughtful selection and a substantial but highly readable summary. As the book progresses, he concentrates on presidents - finishing with speeches by Reagan, Obama and Trump. It is a thoughtful history course in one package.
June 17, 2026
Rating: 4.95 / 5 ⭐
This book was awesome. When I first heard Ben talk about this book, I wasn't interested in it at all and was going to pass. But he and Tommy Vieter talked more in depth about it recently on Pod Save the World and that conversation piqued my interest. I'm so glad it did, because this was a great read.
Ben always impresses me with his clear-eyed view of the complicated events happening internationally, but in this book, he looks inward to investigate the American identity and how it has moved and shifted in these last 250 years.
Our country was founded on compromise but with the promise “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It has been a long and arduous 250 years of us working to realize that promise. As Ben says, "Progress is not inevitable, but nor is our reactionary present." This is an ongoing project, and it will always need to be sustained in order for us to not slide back.
Content Warnings (not exhaustive):
-Graphic:
-Moderate: profanity, violence
-Minor:
This book was awesome. When I first heard Ben talk about this book, I wasn't interested in it at all and was going to pass. But he and Tommy Vieter talked more in depth about it recently on Pod Save the World and that conversation piqued my interest. I'm so glad it did, because this was a great read.
Ben always impresses me with his clear-eyed view of the complicated events happening internationally, but in this book, he looks inward to investigate the American identity and how it has moved and shifted in these last 250 years.
Our country was founded on compromise but with the promise “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It has been a long and arduous 250 years of us working to realize that promise. As Ben says, "Progress is not inevitable, but nor is our reactionary present." This is an ongoing project, and it will always need to be sustained in order for us to not slide back.
Content Warnings (not exhaustive):
-Graphic:
-Moderate: profanity, violence
-Minor:
July 7, 2026
Rhodes selects 15 speeches throughout our Nation’s history to paint a picture of what America means. He surrounds each speech with a short biography of the orator, a picture of what the Nation was like when the speech was delivered and the general reaction to the speech. What is most interesting is that many of the issues we struggle with today we’ve struggled with throughout our 250 years: income inequality, racism, immigration, equal rights. There were even progressives who were antisemites. Same stuff, different day. Comparing Trump’s second inaugural with speeches by Lincoln, FDR, JFK and Obama is breathtaking. The latter were all hopeful. Trump is angry and rests his vision on retribution.
Ben Franklin predicted in his last speech at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 that the Constitution will work only for a while; it can only end in Despotism... when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other. Is his prediction coming true?
Ben Franklin predicted in his last speech at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 that the Constitution will work only for a while; it can only end in Despotism... when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other. Is his prediction coming true?
June 14, 2026
The concept for this book is important and unique- telling history thru speeches that summarize key moments in history. The speeches themselves are fascinating. The author’s content to set the stage and then analyze the speech’s content is a tiring blend of facts and liberal slanted interpretation. While context setting is important, in fact the speeches work well on their own without need for a lot of analysis. Much of the content is about race, Echoing the fact that much of Americas history is about race. The speeches chosen were well chosen as interesting insights into americas political culture development. They were thought provoking. Given our current climate of falsehoods and fear, it was hard not to be saddened by the hope embodied in each speech. Overall, though,it’s an important book because the theme of what is America that emerges is a country driven by consensual hope in the future. Though we drift from this from time to time, we always come back.
June 11, 2026
5⭐️ Now, to be fair, this book was always going to appeal to me. I’ve taught rhetoric for 9 years, so a book analyzing American speeches is right up my alley. But what I really loved about this book is that it doesn’t shy away from the hard conversations and what American history has actually been. As much as we want it to be, progress is often not linear — never has that been more true — and Rhodes does a great job of capturing that. In addition to the book doing a good job of explaining relevant context and analysis of why speeches were effective (be still my rhetoric loving heart), I learned about figures in American history I had never heard of before, and I was especially delighted to see Dolores Huerta highlighted here. The epilogue was especially poignant and captured many of my own feelings about America, especially in this moment. Highly recommend.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A collection of 15 speeches of Americans both famous and obscure that start with Ben Franklin and end with Trump's second inaugural address. The speeches show how the country has evolved as a nation. I liked how the history of the country along with biographical information of each person is given along with their speech.
The last paragraph of the book brings it back to Franklin and is warning to the current precarious state of the country. "Donald Trump's second inaugural address and the pomp and personalities surrounding it, recalled the warning issued by Franklin in his own speech: that our system of government can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when people shall become so corrupted as to need a despotic Government, being incapable of any other".
The last paragraph of the book brings it back to Franklin and is warning to the current precarious state of the country. "Donald Trump's second inaugural address and the pomp and personalities surrounding it, recalled the warning issued by Franklin in his own speech: that our system of government can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when people shall become so corrupted as to need a despotic Government, being incapable of any other".
June 24, 2026
Important read. The first half was great and inspirational, but as we approached modern day, the speeches got more depressing, The last 20% of this book was brutal.
Book Club Notes:
Both the natives and blacks gave speeches about how the whites got credit for all of their work
The fact that the confederates constitution was mostly a copy paste of the original shows how shallow their gripes really were- they just edited the parts about slavery.
Slavery deprives the country of our just place in the world - Lincoln
Despite America's racism, they will always want cheap labor.
The government is fine with assistance as long as the recipients are white.
The election of Trump shows us the true horribleness of the US, and that time does not always bring progress.
Book Club Notes:
Both the natives and blacks gave speeches about how the whites got credit for all of their work
The fact that the confederates constitution was mostly a copy paste of the original shows how shallow their gripes really were- they just edited the parts about slavery.
Slavery deprives the country of our just place in the world - Lincoln
Despite America's racism, they will always want cheap labor.
The government is fine with assistance as long as the recipients are white.
The election of Trump shows us the true horribleness of the US, and that time does not always bring progress.
June 15, 2026
I liked the format and the premise of the book. The author introduced me to historical speeches and speakers that I had not heard of but had great messages ! I would read more books encompassing classic speeches that were important in "What We Say".
That being said , there are different views on each of these speeches. Let the discerning reader hear those views and form their own opinion.
We need books and authors that unify our country, not tear it down or hold our country to unrealistic standards that people without our great hindsight can never uphold. But tell the truth.
And don't call millions of citizens stupid because they voted for a particular candidate!
That being said , there are different views on each of these speeches. Let the discerning reader hear those views and form their own opinion.
We need books and authors that unify our country, not tear it down or hold our country to unrealistic standards that people without our great hindsight can never uphold. But tell the truth.
And don't call millions of citizens stupid because they voted for a particular candidate!
July 3, 2026
Rhodes third book is a good piece in my collection for sure, and the speeches he picks and his explanations of them are good, but I can’t help but miss some of the color of his personal story that’s present in his other writing. I get why that’s missing here—this is meant as a different kind of book—one about America, not necessarily one about Rhodes himself.
I was admittedly a little surprised by the list he chose, but by the end I was convinced of the cohesiveness of the collection. The epilogue is especially prescient in 2026, and if you read nothing else from this book, it should be that.
I was admittedly a little surprised by the list he chose, but by the end I was convinced of the cohesiveness of the collection. The epilogue is especially prescient in 2026, and if you read nothing else from this book, it should be that.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I found this to be a remarkable book that told a history of America in a way that I had not previously encountered. The blending of history and politics through the medium of speeches was unique, but Rhodes pulled it off masterfully. His blend of biography, cultural analysis, and his pedigree as a speech writer gave him the gravitas to pull off this project. A sweeping book, All We Say interacts with individuals across all racial and gender lines, from the founding of our nation to the current administration. This book is an easy one for me to recommend.
June 10, 2026
This was an interesting read. 15 speeches throughout history and analysis to discuss the identity of America. My favorite part was in the Ronald Reagan chapter where he says
“Myth is preferable to reality.” Because that for me sums up the identity of America. The good guy narrative that stands up for the weak and delivers liberty and justice for all - when in fact it is complex and guilty of many sins.
Audiobook read by the author (which I love when an author shares their passion). However, it’s sort of academic and not too fun to read. A little boring.
“Myth is preferable to reality.” Because that for me sums up the identity of America. The good guy narrative that stands up for the weak and delivers liberty and justice for all - when in fact it is complex and guilty of many sins.
Audiobook read by the author (which I love when an author shares their passion). However, it’s sort of academic and not too fun to read. A little boring.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Note: I received access to read this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
That's a 5 star book if I've ever seen one! I learned a lot from the added context and the thematic through lines of Rhodes's writing. I read speeches from some politicians that I used to idolize, some that I despise, and others weren't from politicians at all, but rather members of we, the people that have made a profound difference on the country.
Read it.
That's a 5 star book if I've ever seen one! I learned a lot from the added context and the thematic through lines of Rhodes's writing. I read speeches from some politicians that I used to idolize, some that I despise, and others weren't from politicians at all, but rather members of we, the people that have made a profound difference on the country.
Read it.
July 14, 2026
Note: I received access to read this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
That's a 5 star book if I've ever seen one! I learned a lot from the added context and the thematic through lines of Rhodes's writing. I read speeches from some politicians that I used to idolize, some that I despise, and others weren't from politicians at all, but rather members of we, the people that have made a profound difference on the country.
Read it.
That's a 5 star book if I've ever seen one! I learned a lot from the added context and the thematic through lines of Rhodes's writing. I read speeches from some politicians that I used to idolize, some that I despise, and others weren't from politicians at all, but rather members of we, the people that have made a profound difference on the country.
Read it.
July 2, 2026
One of the best books I have read!
This book opened my mind to many different characters who have affected American history! Very inspirational and informative.
This book gives me hope for a better future, where truth and love can exist.
Thank you Ben Rhodes!
This book opened my mind to many different characters who have affected American history! Very inspirational and informative.
This book gives me hope for a better future, where truth and love can exist.
Thank you Ben Rhodes!
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