50 Greatest Speeches of the World by Ed. George Harris

Speeches are in themselves an art. Everyone cannot make speeches. They can of course address the people through words, but they cannot be called speeches. Moreover all the speeches that have been delivered are not good. What then is the quality required for the words to form a good speech.
Great speeches are not time bound. They are eternal rather they have everlasting impact; very often excerpts from them are quoted by other speakers; thus making them timeless.
Some of the speeches included in the book resulted in assassina-tion; execution and war. One of the speeches turned to be very prophetic. It was Martin Luther King’s speech—I’ve been to the Mountaintop, delivered the evening before he was assassinated.
Reading the speeches one gains immensely from the contents. It gives an insight to the time, person who delivered it and the audience it was addressed to. The speaker comes alive through his speeches. Therefore it is fruitful to read the speeches and get to know the speaker through them.
This book I am sure will enlighten the reader and broaden his/her outlook and perceive the orator and his time in a new light.