The Penguin Book of Modern Speeches

by Brian MacArthur (editor)

*FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED*

Whether it was Churchill rousing the British to take up arms or the dream of Martin Luther King, Fidel Castro inspiring the Cuban revolution or Barack Obama on Selma and the meaning of America, speeches have profoundly influenced the way we see ourselves and society.

Gathered here are some of the most extraordinary and memorable speeches of the last century - from Lenin to Reagan, Thatcher to Malala. Some are well known, others less so, but all helped form the world we now inhabit.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Reference, Philosophy, Classics, 20th Century

672 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1993

Reviews

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First I have a confession to make, I did not read all the speeches contemplated in The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century Speeches. I picked just those that were more significant to me. Maybe I will read others later on, I don't know.

There were, for certain, famous and notorious words by well known personalities that helped shape the world. I was moved by some of them, irritated by others and emotional about a few. Churchill comes out as, perhaps, the supreme speaker. But it could be that I was biased, from just having finished William Manchester and Paul Reid's The Last Lion 3: Winston Spencer Churchill, Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965.

However, this anthology lacked somewhat because it includes portions of each speech and not it all. A pity.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is certainly worth the read, but really demands a large footnote.
It is ridiculously focused on The UK, particularly royalty. There is a large volume of British domestic policy speeches from parliament in the early 20th century that turned me off just because I can't imagine anyone outside of Great Britain gives a crap (Princess Diana's eulogy is just one example of a speech that just doesn't matter that much. I mean, did you remember until I told you that her brother went apeshit at her funeral? Who cares about Edward VIII's abdication? This editor includes 4 &%^ing speeches about it.).
I was really overwhelmed how eurocentric this book is.
Nehru and Gandhi have 2 apiece if I recall, but that's as far East as it goes. With all the speeches and declarations re: World War II and nuclear energy (Oppenheimer's resignation from Los Alamos, for example), one would expect Hirohito or one of his generals, at the least. While strategic bombing in WWII is discussed in the context of say, Dresden, Tokyo's firebombing is not mentioned, and so on.
The DPRK's Kim family does not appear, nor Mao, nor Ho Chi Minh (I'm not the editor of the London Times or anything, but I feel his declaration of independence far surpasses much of the parliamentary grumbling early in this chronologically-ordered book), nor any of the countless other well-spoken leaders of the East. The editors didn't mind translating Hitler, Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Castro, Reinhard Heydrich or even Dolores Ibarruri - that's no excuse.
Everything from the west that you'd expect is here, and a few I wasn't expecting. (Adlai Stevenson was a great public speaker. Who knew?) Sacco and Vanzetti's closing statements surprised me with their inclusion, but certainly belong.
Thos book is strong in newer speeches, with Clinton, Blair, and Jesse Jackson each featured, along with a bit of Thatcher and Reagan.
The very brief (and heavily edited for profanity) speeches by General Patton are a highlight in this sometimes very dry mess of elderly British people talking like elderly British people.
Worth the read, especially if you're in desperate need of well-written prose (okay, Hitler's prose is legendarily daft, but still) and have a few hours to knock off.

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always going to be difficult to cover everything and please everyone with a collection spanning so much history. This does a pretty good job, although there are some omissions - no Reagan demanding 'tear down this wall', nothing from Gorbachev, no JFK promising to land a man on the moon, no Churchill fighting them on the beaches. Still, it's a decent spread of people and topics, centred around the US and UK. With the updated edition finishing with Trump's first State of the Union speech, I also highlights how far and fast we have fallen in our public and political discourse.

[Shaun Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from these speeches. Unfortunately I learned that, despite coming a long way, we've learned very little and history is a series of cyclical events where racism, power and imperialistic ideals often prevail.

I've given it a 4 as it was quite Western/ UK-centric in the main, but there were many powerful speeches none the less.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading this book for literally years, picking at it at times, reading big chunks at others. As ever, dominated by white Anglo-Saxon men, and there's the usual excuses for that. The first half is a bit of a greatest hits, with the second curiously swamped (it felt at least) by a lot of speeches about Britain's place in the European Union. I skipped over Hitler.

[terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

troppo inglese e americano però

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book I have had for about 20 years and finally read it as after reading many other books I could finally appreciate the context that many of these speeches were given. A great reference book, it will remain on the library shelves for many more years so I can dip and out of it when I want to remind myself of my inspiring speeches of the 20th century.

[Will James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never tire of picking up this book, and scanning its pages to be constantly amazed and inspired by some of the greatest rheotric of the last century.

[Zachary Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have finished reading the “Penguin Book of Modern Speeches” by Brian MacArthur

This book is a collection of speeches, mainly politically focused ones, dated from the beginning of the 20th century until 2017.

This is definitely a comprehensive collection. So comprehensive, you can actually get a sense of history by the issues discussed. Patriotism in war followed by women’s suffrage and so on. The speeches are of varying durations leading it up to the reader to compare and contrast short and powerful speeches with soaring tracts of oratory. The former examples can often be surprisingly powerful and frank, like latter day Gettysburg Addresses.

The balance of male and female speeches is about as much as you would expect from a book of mainly political speeches. The speeches are mainly either from British or American figures with some notable exceptions. I think there was sadly a missed opportunity to include more speeches from continental European figures, as well as other world political figures. For instance, the speeches made by French figures of the time of the Bataclan attacks may have been a good addition. On the other side of the world Australian PM Kevin Rudd’s remarkable apology to the Aboriginal Australian is a remarkable moment of political oratory.

The purposes of the speech are quite varied, which makes for interesting reading in terms of studying the art of persuasion and accuracy. There are among others; court defence speeches, presidential inaugurations, calls for civil rights and rallies to go to war. Few court defence speeches come as epic as Fidel Castro’s “History Shall Observe Me”, complete with tubthumping cries out for rights accompanied by vividly violent imagery. Nelson Mandela’s “It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”, is one of the best defence speeches of the sanctity of liberal democracy.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting read. I especially appreciated how the book dared to be controversial and put in speeches from some of history’s villains. Several of Hitler’s speeches are cited. His speech in the aftermath of the Night of the Long Knives is a masterclass in political ass covering and emotional manipulation. Reinhard Heydrich’s Wannsee speech proposing the “Final Solution” to the Jewish “problem” is chilling in it’s reading, but direct and commanding in it’s intent.

This is not an easy read, but it is definitely and enlightening one.

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

An all-round decent overview of speeches. The speeches in the book are actually edited excerpts (mostly). Personally, I preferred this rather the whole speech but it won't be to everyone's taste.

It is heavily biased to the UK. Students of British history may enjoy this but it may have less relevance to our continental friends.

I felt that the passage that sets the context was sometimes too short and left me wanting more. I often did my own research about the context before reading the speech. I find it hard to imagine that the average Joe will know enough about history to get everything they can from this book without some additional reading.

It is a very, very long book. You have to really love speeches to call this a "page turner"! It was worth reading and I've certainly learned more about history and English by reading this book. However, it's probably best read slowly (i.e. 1-2 speeches per day).

Decent book but occasionally let down by a lack of context and perhaps a UK bias.

[GooseReadsBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book acknowledges that reading the written versions of the speeches of history can, to a degree, cause them to lose some of their impact. This is true but at the same time it offers a chance to review more critically what it is that makes a great speech. Is it the ability to fuse poetry with hope? Possibly. Is a good speech, that which is specific and outlines a plan or a vision? Again possibly. What I think really makes a good speech is that which can capture the emotions of an audience and rallies them to them. I think that a speech can surprise you in helping you to see something within yourself that you didn't realise was there but ultimately brings that realisation about. I felt that the speeches about social justice spoke to that innate concept of right and wrong within us and the speech captured that which was already inside of us. This book I think is a very interesting way of reviewing the history of the world. Although very UK focused in its choices of speeches there is a wide variety of speeches helping to illustrate a number of events throughout modern history.

[Ralph Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barack Obama's legendary visage greets the viewer at the front of this book with the suggestion that the volume will conclude with his rhetoric; an intelligent verbose man, Leader of the Free World, a fairytale. Instead the book ends on a bleak note with Donald Trump's first address to congress punctuated with applause instead of impressive rhetoric. MacArthur is not political despite nearly all of his speeches being from politicians; he includes everyone from Gandhi, Hitler, Stalin, Michael Foot, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton; it is precariously ideologically balanced. Upon reading Hitler's speeches, I found myself further affirmed this guy was not an eloquent speaker just someone who articulated the emotion -- rage -- felt by the majority of Germans after the Versailles. The most impressive speaker is, of course, Franklin Roosevelt but I would also reserve praise for Woodrow Wilson who surely gave birth to the modern rhetoric.

[Alan Colman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I recently picked up my copy (1999 version) and read the resignation speech given by Sir Geoffrey Howe in the UK Parliament, 13 Nov 1990. I had previously read the transcript of the speech on the web and had also listened to this speech when it was originally broadcast. I note that the speech in the book has been eviscerated and many paragraphs removed from the original, including the famous metaphor about the game of cricket. I find no mention in the book that speeches have been edited for this publication so how can I trust any other speech in this book?

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The selection of speeches and commentary on a number of speeches has a clear US/UK bias, which I found unpleasant. Overall the book has some important speeches, but on the whole is so long and repetitive (how many white male politicians in the west??) that I could not recommend it. It was quite a trudge to read until the end.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

some excellently choose speeches, often showing hoe little the world has changed in 120 years. Greedy rich people, populist fascists, racists and militarism all feature from the early speeches.
Fist half is much stronger than the later speeches, this is both due to the first half of the 20C being so momentous and it is always harder to judge things without the distance of time.

[Yates Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of great and terrible speeches. I don’t rate this particular collection highly but important speeches should be essential reading and study for every one. This is the most direct way we can frame important historical moments.

[Shishir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection of well written speeches (unfortunately written books are unable to portray the delivery and cadence) - providing explanation and context in history

[Dean Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little too Anglo American but a decent collection nonetheless.

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mixed

Selection of relevance of some speeches questionable. Definitely biased in variety picked. That said some very interesting speeches. Took a while to read.

[Bernard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Riddled with editorial mistakes and overly focussed on British affairs.

[Jayon Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good to read to grasp the true texture of modern history albeit being disappointed by how UK/US centric the pieces selected were. I didn't need to read 3 Bill Clinton pieces about his relations, clarifying said relation, then going back to adequately address how sorry he was. I wanted to read more on the Arab Spring, the Chinese Communist Revolution, South Asian thought; to see more African leaders included than Nelson Mandela. Nonetheless it's a great anthology and it's a huge plus is that I came away with a couple names to follow up on :)

[Nick Twinamatsiko · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was in this book that I came to learn of, and greatly admire, such people as Emeline Pankhurst ('I am here as a soldier who has temporarily left the field of battle in order to explain - it seems strange it should have to be explained - what civil war is like when civil war is waged by women.' I LOVED that!)Eugene McCarthy ('I say to you the political prophets have prophesied falsely in these eight years. And the high priests of government have ruled by that false prophecy. And the people seemed to have loved it so.') and Vaclav Havel ('People, your government has returned to you!')

It's amazing what history can be learnt by simply considering the great speeches of an age. Reading MacArthur's collection, and then considering how the century unfolded, one wonders whether it's words - mere words - that shape history, or it's the events (the history) that give shape to the words.

[Rima · Rating 5 out of 5]

“But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of The American Dream, there were many who didn’t make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future.”
~
It’s crazy recalling the power of Obama’s words back in 2008 and reading them again in The Penguin Book of Modern Speeches. Despite his complex and deeply political leadership, Obama stood for a new generation of hope for the minorities and previously looked over.

[Alejandro Núñez baladrón · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should be called “The Penguin book of modern American and British speeches”.
Combined with some knowledge on real policy its reading reveals the hypocrisy of political mass speeches, though there are also some moments of inspiring, really felt discourses, which still make you have some faith on real altruism in politics.

[Kris Wijoyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

bagian waktu jenderal Mac Arthur menyampaikan pidato perpisahan bikin gw terharu, dia banyak ngejelasin tentang keabadian sebuah pengabdian yang walaupun zaman berubah tetapi nilai pengabdian yang tulus akan tetap kekal abadi..."Duty-Honor-Country"

[Alyson Bowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

awesome! Gives you some wonderful and not-so-wonderful speeches made by some of the most influential speeches of people in the 20th century. Speeches from Churchill, Mandela, Luther King, and even the evil dictators like Hitler, Stalin, etc.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone with an interest in politics or the last century's history should check this out. It's in bite-sized pieces, too.

[Conor · Rating 4 out of 5]

great to dip in and out of

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ignore the fact that it's ridiculously eurocentric and only about 3 speeches are by women, it's a good anthology.