Lend Me Your Ears collects, in one immensely rich compendium, some two hundred of history's outstanding instances of oratorical eloquence. They are selected, arranged, and introduced by William Safire, one of America's most influential political columnists, himself a former speechwriter and language scholar. From Demosthenes mounting an angry defense against his attackers in one of his immortal philippics, to Abraham Lincoln consecrating the memory of the Union dead at Gettysburg, to Winston Churchill rallying a beleaguered Britain with a promise of "blood, toil, sweat and tears," to Salman Rushdie unexpectedly electrifying an audience with his paean to the necessity of free speech - this anthology contains the finest examples of the art of speechmaking in human experience.The book is arranged by theme and occasion: Memorials and Patriotic Speeches, War and Revolution Speeches, Tributes and Eulogies, Debates and Argumentation, Trial Speeches, Gallows and Farewell Speeches, Sermons, Inspirational Speeches, Lectures and Instructive Speeches, Speeches of Social Responsibility, Media Speeches, Political Speeches (in Safire's words, "the anthologist's mother's milk"), and Commencement Addresses. Each speech is expertly introduced by the editor, who places the speech's occasion in historical context and analyzes the particular techniques that give the speech its force and effect. William Safire enlivens many of these introductions with personal anecdotes of the circumstances of the speechmaker and the speech. His Introduction is a brisk, compact, effective short course in how to make a great speech - with a cornucopia of examples to follow.No one faced with the need to go before an audience of any size to argue, persuade, uplift, introduce, memorialize, or amuse should be without Lend Me Your Ears. It serves equally as a work of permanent reference use and as a treasure-house for the browser in search of inspiration, instruction, and entertainment. In this anthology, editor and subject matter have met to result in a book that draws from the ages - and that will last for decades as the definitive word on human eloquence. Read Less