The World’s Great Speeches

This outstanding compendium of 292 great speeches contains addresses from nearly every historical era and nation, from the formal orations of ancient Greece and the speeches of Julius Caesar, to modern-day addresses by Nelson Mandela, Ronald Regan and Václav Havel.
Among the memorable speeches included here are Pericles’ funeral oration, St. Bernard’s advocacy of the Second Crusade, William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech, Winston Churchill’s “Blood, Sweat and Tears” address, Richard Nixon’s speech to the astronauts on the moon, Malcolm X’s address on the Black Revolution, and many more. Readers will also find time-honored declamations by St. Francis, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Napoleon, Victor Hugo, Leon Trotzky, Mohandas K. Gandhi, Dylan Thomas, Fulton J. Sheen, Adlai Stevenson, Walter Reuther, and many others−over 240 speakers in all.
For this newly updated edition, Stephen J. McKenna, Assistant Professor of English at The Catholic University of America, has added 14 important speeches delivered between 1974 and 1997. These new selections include Barbara Jordan’s Opening Statement to the House Judiciary Committee for the Nixon Impeachment Proceedings (1974); Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Harvard Commencement Address (1978); Ronald Regan’s First Inaugural Address (1981): Nelson Mandela’s Address to a Rally in Cape Town on His Release from Prison (1990); Václav Havel’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress (1990); the Earl of Spencer’s Tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales (1997); and more.
Rich with drama of history, the speeches in this volume will serve you time and time again by suggesting provocative themes and historical parallels, and by providing apt quotations, important reference passages, and a wide range of other valuable material.