Restores the forgotten legacy of a leader for peace

Presents the major ideas expounded by the legendary leader of the Black revolution in America through selected speeches delivered from 1963 to his assassination in 1965.

The most essential writings of America’s heroic Civil War president, complete with detailed notes, a chronology of Lincoln’s life and political career, and an introduction by the novelist Gore Vidal. Ranging from finely honed legal argument to wry and some sometimes savage humor to private correspondence and political rhetoric of unsurpassed grandeur, the writings collected in this volume are at once a literary testament of the greatest writer ever to occupy the White House and a documentary history of America in Abraham Lincoln's time. They record Lincoln's campaigns for public office; the evolution of his stand against slavery; his electrifying debates with Stephen Douglas; his conduct of the Civil War; and the great public utterances of his presidency, including the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. Library of America Paperback Classics feature authoritative texts drawn from the acclaimed Library of America series and introduced by today's most distinguished scholars and writers. The contents of this Paperback Classic are drawn from Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832- 1858 and Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865, volumes number 45 and 46 in the Library of America series. They are joined in the series by a companion volume, number 192s, The Lincoln Anthology: Great Writers on his Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now.

One of the greatest African American leaders and one of the most brilliant minds of his time, Frederick Douglass spoke and wrote with unsurpassed eloquence on almost all the major issues confronting the American people during his life—from the abolition of slavery to women's rights, from the Civil War to lynching, from American patriotism to black nationalism. Between 1950 and 1975, Philip S. Foner collected the most important of Douglass's hundreds of speeches, letters, articles, and editorials into an impressive five-volume set, now long out of print. Abridged and condensed into one volume, and supplemented with several important texts that Foner did not include, this compendium presents the most significant, insightful, and elegant short works of Douglass's massive oeuvre.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) was America's most published president with an incredible output of writing including forty books, over a thousand articles, and countless speeches and letters. Collected here in one volume are examples of Roosevelt’s voluminous writings over a dazzling array of topics. Organized by general categories, readers can sample writings on subjects as varied as the environment, the danger of professional sports; the famous charge of San Juan Hill, and Roosevelt’s passion for literary criticism. From addresses and presidential messages on public policy and national ideals, to biography, to travel writing, to ecological concerns, to writings on hunting, to international politics and history, Roosevelt’s talents and achievements as a writer went far beyond what we now expect of our public leaders. Roosevelt’s legacy as one of the first progressive American politicians, his concerns about environmentalism, his internationalism, and his unflinching belief in the American character and destiny uncannily speak to the issues of our own day and can be found in the pages of this representative and judicious anthology of his work.

Vallabhbhai Patel, popularly known as Sardar Patel, was one of India's towering leaders, whose contribution to the Indian Republic is immense. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi to join the freedom struggle, Patel was at the forefront of the Quit India movement, and was arrested by the British a number of times. After Independence, he served as India's first home minister and deputy prime minister. A successful lawyer, he used his legendary negotiation skills to unite the 550 princely states and colonial provinces under the Union of India, to create the nation we know today. The speeches and writings collected here showcase Vallabhbhai Patel's unique vision for his beloved country-his staunch belief in communal harmony, benefits of freedom for all citizens and in peace and cooperation between different regions.

This anthology contains some of the African-American rights advocate's most noted writings and speeches, among them "Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World" and "Africa for the Africans."