Contains a collection of transcripts of contemporary American speeches, providing brief biographical information on the author of each speech, as well as critical and historical context. Includes CD-ROM with forty-two significant speeches.

Forget about searching the Internet for current speeches, Contemporary American Speeches, contains speeches from the 1960's through the 1990's. This book can serve as a core textbook in courses such as Contemporary Public Address and Contemporary Speakers and Speeches. As in previous editions, this edition contains speeches that typify current public scrutiny of some of society's most pressing questions. NEW TO THIS EDITION: Includes speeches by well-known speakers. The speech forms themselves assure coverage of the spectrum of contemporary public address. An addition in Chapter 1 is a lengthy section on diverse public speaking traditions as influenced by culture and gender. Chapter 2 contains important additions on narration as a rhetorical technique and on ideological criticism as a perspective for evaluation. Chapter 2 also contains a new section on "Civility in Public Discourse." The language in all chapters has been changed in places to increase clarity