Rhetoric gives our words the power to inspire. But it's not just for politicians: it's all around us, whether you're buttering up a key client or persuading your children to eat their greens. You have been using rhetoric yourself, all your life. After all, you know what a rhetorical question is, don't you? In this updated edition of his classic guide, Sam Leith traces the art of argument from ancient Greece down to its many modern mutations. He introduces verbal villains from Hitler to Donald Trump - and the three musketeers: ethos, pathos and logos. He explains how rhetoric works in speeches from Cicero to Richard Nixon, and pays tribute to the rhetorical brilliance of AC/DC's "Back In Black". Before you know it, you'll be confident in chiasmus and proud of your panegyrics - because rhetoric is useful, relevant and absolutely nothing to be afraid of.

Rhetoric is among the most ancient academic disciplines, and we all use it every day whether expertly or not. This book is a lively set of lessons on the subject. It is about rhetorical figures: practical ways of applying old and powerful principles--repetition and variety, suspense and relief, concealment and surprise, the creation of expectations and then the satisfaction or frustration of them--to the composition of a simple sentence or a complete paragraph. --from publisher description.

This rhetorical resource is, foremost, written by a student of rhetoric for students of rhetoric. Therefore, it is a rich and perfect mixture of definition and analysis (including ample space for notes and additions). It is concise enough to be easily carried around, yet not limited so as to leave the student wanting. The Dictionary of Rhetorical Terms is a compilation of hundreds of rhetorical devices and concepts: defined, exemplified, and placed in alphabetical order for your convenience. Over four hundred definitions, a look at the rhetorical appeals, an explanation of the revolutionary new method of rhetorical analysis, and much more fill the pages of this dictionary. This is one reference tool you will not want to leave behind. Whether you are simply interested in the subject, have only begun your journey of rhetoric, or have weathered the subject for many years, this will be an irreplaceable map and guide as you go down rhetoric's steep paths of thought.

"Deeds Done in Words is an impressive piece of work. It is the first attempt to identify and assess the principal genres of rhetoric, and to interpret the panoply of those genres in terms of the needs of, and the needs for, ritual in American politics."—Jeffrey Tulis, author of The Rhetorical Presidency "Deeds Done in Words is a thoughtful survey of how a democracy uses language to transact its business. Based on an enlivened understanding of genre theory and on numerous pieces of original criticism, Campbell and Jamieson vividly show how central public discourse has become the lifeblood of the American polity."—Roderick Hart, author of The Sound of Leadership "The rhetoric that issues from the White House is becoming an ever more salient part of what the presidency means and does. This acute inquiry provides a great many insights into the forms, meanings, and functions of presidential discourse. It is an enlightening contribution to our understanding of American politics."—Murray Edelman, author of Constructing the Political Spectacle

From retired Air Force pilot Marshall Harrison comes a remarkable memoir of aerial warfare in Vietnam. In his third combat tour, Harrison found himself converted from the high performance world of jets to the awkward-looking OV-10 Bronco and assigned as a FAC forward air controller. A captivating tale of valor, brotherhood, and patriotism unravels in the pages of A Lonely Kind of War, Forward Air Controller, Vietnam, a posthumous release by this published author through Xlibris. Harrison is a born story teller. There is excitement, suspense, and humor in this account of the life of a FAC. They were a small group of dedicated pilots flying lightly armed prop-driven aircrafts in South Vietnam. Considered to be the eyes and ears of the attack aircraft, their job was to fly low and slow, find, fix, and direct airstrikes against an elusive enemy concealed by the heavy rainforest and jungles, an area the FACs referred to as the Green Square. The flying scenes are riveting: learning to fly the maneuverable Bronco, clearing in the fast-movers to drop massive 750-lb bombs without causing injury to the friendlies, and conducting covert operation into Cambodia---over the fence with the mad men in the green beanies. On one of these secret missions, he is shot down and spends a harrowing night in the jungle. FACs lived with the troops in the field and flew from unimproved airstrips; they virtually controlled the aerial battlefields of South Vietnam. Their losses were staggering and they usually died alone.

'Moral character, so to say, constitutes the most effective means of proof.' In ancient Greece, rhetoric was at the centre of public life. Many writers attempted to provide manuals to help improve debating skills, but it was not until Aristotle produced The Art of Rhetoric in the 4th century bc that the subject had a true masterpiece. As he considered the role of emotion, reason, and morality in speech, Aristotle created essential guidelines for argument and prose style that would influence writers for more than two millennia. Brilliantly explained and carefully reasoned, The Art of Rhetoric remains as relevant today as it was in the assemblies of ancient Athens.