From Moses to Nelson Mandella, speeches have helped both change the way we see the world and the way the world is shaped. A great orator, however, has to have the right words and the right message to inspire his or her followers. The Penguin Book of Historic Speeches gathers together the world's greatest speeches, bringing together the words of over one hundred men and women. These brilliant and passionate declarations by Disraeli, Lincoln, Gladstone, Churchill, Washington, Socrates, Pankhurst, Lenin, Gandhi and many others provide a vivid glimpse of history in the making while retaining their power to move and inspire today. 'Impeccable. MacArthur prefaces each address with a short but scholarly historical explanation that sets the scene perfectly. An attractive volume with a splendidly pithy introducton.' Andrew Roberts, Sunday Times 'MacArthur wisely concentrates on certain political conflicts - gathering together the oratory of the American Civil War or the campaign for female suffrage. His book works well not just as an anthology but as a history of those episodes.' Independent on Sunday

Author Biography

Brian MacArthur was founder editor of Today and The Times Higher Education Supplement, and editor of the Western Morning News. He was deputy editor of the Sunday Times and executive editor of The Times. He has written Surviving the Sword: Prisoners of the Japanese 1942-1945. He has been interested in the power of oratory since first hearing Aneurin Bevan on the hustings in 1956 and has edited The Penguin Book of Modern Speeches and The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century Protest. Brian MacArthur lives in Norfolk and London and has two daughters. Brian MacArthur was founder editor of Today and The Times Higher Education Supplement, and editor of the Western Morning News. He was deputy editor of the Sunday Times and executive editor of The Times. He has written Surviving the Sword: Prisoners of the Japanese 1942-1945. He has been interested in the power of oratory since first hearing Aneurin Bevan on the hustings in 1956 and has edited The Penguin Book of Modern Speeches and The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century Protest. Brian MacArthur lives in Norfolk and London and has two daughters.