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In this exuberant collection, acclaimed historian Simon Sebag Montefiore takes us on a journey from ancient times to the twenty-first century. Some speeches are heroic and inspiring; some diabolical and atrocious. Some are exquisite and poignant; others cruel and chilling. The speakers themselves vary from empresses and conquerors to rock stars, novelists and sportsmen, dreamers and killers, from Churchill and Elizabeth I to Stalin and Genghis Khan, and from Michelle Obama and Cleopatra to Ronald Reagan, Nehru, and Muhammad Ali.
All human drama is here: from the carnage of battlefields to the theatre of courtrooms, from table talk to audiences of millions, from desperate last stands to orations of triumph, from noble calls for liberation to genocidal rants, from foolish delusions and strange confessions to defiant resistance and heartbreaking farewells. Voices of History spans centuries, continents, and cultures. In the accessible and gripping style of a master storyteller, Montefiore shows why these seventy speeches are essential reading and how they enlighten our past, enrich our present, and inspire—as well as hold warnings for—our future.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 1, 2021 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781984898197
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781984898197
- File size: 2262 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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May 1, 2021
The bestselling, prizewinning historian and novelist assembles speeches from historical figures. Like penmanship, rhetoric no longer occupies a central role in a liberal education, and many contemporary readers may be surprised to learn that listening to public oratory was once considered an afternoon's family entertainment. But there is no doubt that stirring speeches have marked significant historical events, deplorable as well as admirable. Although Montefiore, winner of the Costa Biography Award, among many other honors, maintains that "speech has never been more powerful because television and Internet have never been more dominant," his choices reveal that speeches often inspire an audience but rarely change their minds. Featuring more than 80 chapters, the book begins in ancient Greece and moves all the way through the end of 2020. Until recent centuries, all speeches were fictionalized. Plato wrote everything attributed to Socrates, Arrian described the words of Alexander the Great, and Matthew quoted Jesus, all long after their deaths. Historians maintain that these speeches recorded accepted tradition, which is not reassuring. Writers assume a modest degree of literacy in their audience, but public speakers aim to reach every listener. Archaic prose makes pre-20th-century rhetoric sound dignified, but modern examples often seem to be addressed to the least educated. The admirable sentiments of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris after their Nov. 7, 2020, election victory are expressed through high-minded clich�s. Donald Trump's 2015 speech announcing his candidacy for president deserves inclusion because it heralded a dramatic shift in American politics, but it's nothing more than subliterate bombast. Montefiore does not ignore villains--e.g., Robespierre, Stalin, Hitler, bin Laden--whose speeches merely affirm their villainy without being especially interesting. Readers of this selection of primary sources will understand why we love diligent historians, which Montefiore most certainly is. They do the boring work (reading primary sources) and fashion a fluid narrative from the research. A veteran historian collects an easy paycheck for a book best suited to devoted students of world history.COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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