21 Speeches That Shaped Our World: The people and ideas that changed the way we think

Chris Abbott

Open the book

(Enlarge Image)

Published by Rider Books, part of Ebury Publishing

Format: Paperback

£9.99

Buy now

This book is also available as:

Availability

Available for dispatch within 1-2 working days

Details

EAN: 9781846042720
Published: 7 Jun 2012

About the book

Synopsis

In this fascinating book, Chris Abbott, a leading political analyst, takes a close look at 21 key speeches which have shaped the world today. He examines the power of the arguments embedded in these speeches to inspire people to achieve great things, or do great harm.

Abbott draws upon his political expertise to explain how our current understanding of the world is rooted in pivotal moments of history. These moments are captured in the words of a range of influential speakers including: Emmeline Pankhurst, Martin Luther King, Jr, Enoch Powell, Napoleon Beazley, Kevin Rudd, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden, Margaret Beckett, Winston Churchill, Salvador Allende, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Tim Collins, Mohandas Gandhi, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Robin Cook and Barack Obama.

The speeches in this book are arranged thematically, linked by concepts such as 'might is right', 'with us or against us' and 'give peace a chance'. Each transcript is accompanied by an insightful commentary that analyses how the words relate to our modern society. Fresh and relevant, this is a book that will make you stop in your tracks and think about what is really happening in the world today.

Press

What the critics say

A fascinating gallery of speeches and turning points in recent history.
- New Internationalist

A unique compilation of catalytic speeches...relevant to some of the biggest choices that face humanity in the 21st century.
-

Illuminates many of the most important trends of our times.
-

Chris Abbott has done a great service in reminding us of of these people and of their continuing relevance for today's world.
-

An interesting selection of speeches...Throughout, Abbott provides a thorough historical context and argues convincingly for the continuing relevance of the ideas expressed.
- Financial Times

21 Speeches is a brilliant idea. Chris Abbott takes some of the most significant speeches of the last one hundred years and frames them in a perceptive analysis, providing a narrative that illuminates many of the most important trends of our times.
-

About the Author

Chris Abbott is a writer and researcher specialising in international security and foreign affairs. He is the founder and Executive Director of Open Briefing, the world's first civil society intelligence agency (www.openbriefing.org). He is also an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow in the School of Social and International Studies at the University of Bradford, and Honorary Sustainable Security Consultant to Oxford Research Group (a leading global security think tank, of which he was Deputy Director until 2009). See www.chrisabbott.info for more information.