Great Speeches of the 20th Century

by Bob Blaisdell (Editor)

A great speech can stir the soul — and move a nation. This compact and affordable anthology gathers complete speeches and selected excerpts from some of the twentieth century's most memorable addresses. Writers and speakers in search of memorable quotations will appreciate this collection, as will any reader seeking historical wisdom and inspiration. 
Featured speakers include Winston Churchill, rousing the British to defend their lives and homes against the Nazis; Mohandas Gandhi, advocating non-violent resistance to deplorable living conditions; and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, calming the nation's fears during the Great Depression. Additional orations include those of Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Ronald Reagan, Elie Wiesel, the Dalai Lama, César Chávez, and many others.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Writing, Leadership

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Bob Blaisdell is a published adapter, author, editor, and an illustrator of children's books and young adult books. He teaches English in Brooklyn at Kingsborough Community College. He is a reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle and Christian Science Monitor and the editor of more than three dozen anthologies for Dover Publications. Email him at Robert.Blaisdell@Kingsborough.edu

Reviews

[Fiona Altschuler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good. I especially loved the speeches by Eamon de Valera, Martin Luther King Jr, and Elie Wiesel.

[Carolina Campoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The speeches in this book are indeed among the greatest ones in history. As a linguist it was a source of material to run some discourse analysis. My only complain with the book is that it wasn’t explicit about what made this speeches the greatest ones in the 21st century. For some, it was obvious that the speech was part of a great moment in history but for others the motive was quite unclear.
Another thing to consider for those seeking to read this book to find nice motivational quotes to share, your find very few but that does not mean the content is lacking something.
I’d read it again 😊

[Fatema · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the speeches are highly effective and influential, most of whom moved mountains. I like the little information before the speech, why was it given or that tiny little fact in italics.
Although, I don’t find it effective, for me, reading a book full of diverse speeches if I don’t know what’s going on in that time period, having a background or historical idea of what’s going on helps A LOT in understanding the speech.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the span of time and expertise of each speech included in this text. There are three categories: people and events I never heard of; people and events that sound familiar; and people and events that I know a lot of but have never had access to the full transcript. My favorites were FDR in 1940, WEB du Bois in 1946, Eleanor Roosevelt in 1954, JFK in 1963, MLK jr in 1963, Cesar Chavez in 1968, Shirley Chrisholm in 1969, Ursula le Guin in 1983, Ralph Nader in 1984, Ronald Reagan in 1987, Benazir Bhutto in 1995, Elie Wiesel in 1999, and Barack Obama’s in 2008.

[Tanja Nayak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be a welcome addition to anyone's library. It contains a slew of brilliant political speeches by very clever people. From the likes of Theodore Roosevelt, to Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr, Elie Wiesel, and Nelson Mandela you really can't fault this book. The book also covers a variety of difficult topics such as racism; sexism; war and peace; and anti-semitism. It is not just a good read, it is a great read!!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great collection of important speeches. I read this for book club at work. History is hard to read sometimes and this book was infuriating, since so many things have not changed, but we have to keep fighting the good fight and I learned a lot.

[Londyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This book gave me access to some really amazing speeches. My favorite was Mother Teresa's, which made me cry. Others that I read I am completely against. Being sure to keep your discernment clear, I would recommend.

[Kevin King · Rating 4 out of 5]

median inspiration

[Jessica Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for great oratory, however...

The greatness of these speeches is who and when these speeches were given. These speeches are not necessarily great oratory. Sniff.

[Kaia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. The speeches are interesting and I learned from them.

[Ayeza Shaur · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

Some speeches are really well written and enjoyable, while others are hard to read in terms of style and lack of context (some extra context which the blurb at the start doesn’t give).

[Zach Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inconceivable how this should be rated less than 5 stars- any person who is a student of rhetoric (surely we all are since we all speak) needs to read this book immediately.

[moon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Angela N · Rating 3 out of 5]

its a nice haul of obviously some of the "great speeches of the 20th century" and having some of those information was great! would've really loved to read some more about its impact. this book was given to me as a gift and i still adore it!

[Shin Hum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving the world through great rhetorics.

[Nas Mhd · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A great speech can stir the soul" Nice to read again some great speeches and remember the historical events and contexts that incited each, however, I discovered many influental personalities through their inspiring and strong speeches, I would give 3 stars to the book, and would like to read other titles on the topic of great talks of our history....

[Isaura]

Granted Lenin's speech is historical, but is it great? Its substance would fit in two lines...