The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century Speeches

Front Cover
Brian MacArthur
Penguin Adult, Nov 25, 1999 - History - 525 pages
Whether is was Churchill rousing the British to war, Fidel Castro inspiring the Cuban revolution, Bill Clinton defending himself against Monica Lewinsky or Tony Blair leading New Labour out of the wilderness, great speakers have always had the power to stir hearts, uphold great ideals and lead nations to new frontiers. The dreams of Emmeline Pankhurst, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela inspired millions. This anthology, newly revised to include speeches from the end of this century, including Earl Spencer's stirring philippic over the coffin of his sister, Princess Diana, contains the most famous or notorious speeches in English since 1899, as well as speeches in translation from world leaders, including Lenin, Hitler and Stalin. There are also lesser-known masterpieces from such speakers as Roger Casement, J. B. Priestley and Salman Rushdie. Many helped to change the history of the twentieth century.

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About the author (1999)

Brian MacArthur was born in Essex, England on February 5, 1940. He was working for the Sunday Times during the Hitler Diaries scandal of 1983. He left the Sunday Times shortly after the scandal to became editor of the Western Morning News. After two years there, he became the founding editor of Today. He left Today in 1987 to rejoin the Sunday Times. From 2006 to 2010, he was the books editor of the Daily Telegraph. He wrote several books including Deadline Sunday, Surviving the Sword, For King and Country, and Eddy Shah: Today and the Newspaper Revolution. He edited The Penguin Book of Modern Speeches. He died of leukemia on March 24, 2019 at the age of 79.

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