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Rating: 
Summary: Kirkus Reviews Has It Right
Review: 100 years of speeches organized by decade, beginning with 1900-1910 and ending with 1990-2000.I picked this book up in the airport a couple months ago and ripped through the first four decades in a couple days. Then, as was history during the 50's, the speeches became "ordinary" and the reading drab. The 1960's, where I thought for sure the speeches would be more interesting and inspiring actually fell short for me. There were a couple choices that were intriguing (I don't care how many times I read MLK's "I have a dream..," it still evokes a lot of emotion), but for such a rich time in our history, with so many great orators (MLK, JFK, LBJ, Malcom X) and so many great subjects, I was looking for something a little more extraordinary. As you can imagine, plowing through the pathetic oratory of the past 30 years was tedious work broken only by a few gems offered by people like Ryan White (aids victim), Mario Cuomo, Charlton Heston and, most surprisingly, Tom Brokaw. A better sub-title for the book would have been "Extraordinary Events of Our Century and the Mediocre Speeches that accompanied them." Certainly worth the read, though. It was interesting to guage GW's inaugural address against a collection of "America's Finest."
Rating:
Summary: A good compilation, if you ignore the italics.
Review: I bought this book because of an interest in analyzing the form and structure of oratory speech, and on that level, the book delivers rather well. However, the editorial comment that is supposed to provide the "objective" context in which these speeches were delivered, deteriorates rather badly as the last decade of the century is covered. For example, in the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill controversy, an speech is excerpted from both parties. There's nothing wrong with that, but in the author's/editor's commentary to set up the speech, Hill's speech is given the description "equally as compelling". Which again, I say is fine, if they wanted to go that route to highlight both sides with similar force. But then cut to a later pair of passages, first with Sarah Brady (emphasized as "Registered Republican") speaking at the 1996 Democratic National Convention about handgun control, and then excerpting a speech from Charlton Heston on behalf of the NRA ("Although many Americans consider the organization's positions extreme" -- p. 427) opposing the measure. I'm not familiar with the immediate politics of the earlier periods to say what kind of bias, if any, is reflected by the editorial comments in this account of history, but there's a level of trust between author/editor and reader that, if breached, can justify the reader in dismissing wholesale the commentary for lack of integrity rather than an innocent bias. Perhaps if this book had been completed a year or two later than it was (1999), the perspective of recent history may have been a little different. But for the speeches themselves, I can't complain. It's a decent resource not only for its substance, but also for a guide to drafting good oratory.
Rating: 
Summary: A great compilation of speeches!
Review: I bought this book in hardcover last year for my father, a former high school American History teacher. Normally not an effusive man, he talked about what a remarkable and important collection of speeches this book contains for months. Since then I've purchased it in paperback for myself and many others. You will get goosebumps reliving some of these amazing moments in our national history.
Rating:
Summary: A Century of Outstanding Spoken Wisdom
Review: In Our Own Words is a treasure of the greatest American speeches of the twentieth century. The greatest minds and their messages have been chronologically compiled bringing us all the wisdom their spoken words have served to alter the course of humanity.
If you are looking for a book that is engaging, illuminating, and packed with profound wisdom from some of the greatest minds that have made history, this is one book that you will be glad you bought. Highly recommended! Barbara Rose, author of `If God Was Like Man' and `Individual Power'
Rating: 
Summary: Great Reference of Speeches
Review: Look - this compilation of speeches is well worth checking out. You can find the history of the 20th century wrapped up in the writings. From Roosevelt to Clinton there is much to be digested in this work. Any student of politics or history will be well served to read through this book and refer to it going forward. It is interesting to see how the language of speeches changes in the present, and how it recalls much of the past. Classic speeches from JFK, Reagan, MLK, Clinton, etc will keep you interested, and some other speeches will put you to sleep. The point is - you will know more about our world, and the USA if you check out this book. Joseph Dworak
Rating:
Summary: Great Reference of Speeches
Review: Look - this compilation of speeches is well worth checking out. You can find the history of the 20th century wrapped up in the writings. From Roosevelt to Clinton there is much to be digested in this work. Any student of politics or history will be well served to read through this book and refer to it going forward. It is interesting to see how the language of speeches changes in the present, and how it recalls much of the past. Classic speeches from JFK, Reagan, MLK, Clinton, etc will keep you interested, and some other speeches will put you to sleep. The point is - you will know more about our world, and the USA if you check out this book. Joseph Dworak
Rating: 
Summary: A lot of good speeches.... a LOT of bias
Review: Torricelli's compilation of what he considers to be the greatest speeches of the twentieth century is an impressive collection of famous oratory. No doubt, some of the speeches he chose to include rank as some of the finest and most influential in world history. That having been said, I get the impression that Torricelli sat down with a textbook of 20th century American history (surely a "revisionist" one at that), picking and choosing speeches that reflected the liberal/progressive/feminist/environmentalist side of pretty much every argument that arose. If a reader were to base his understanding of the American century solely on Torricelli's choice of important events and speeches, one would think the liberal viewpoint dominated this period, with conservatives providing knee-jerk, reactionary rants to an agenda framed and implemented by the Left with some exceptions. In reality, particularly during the latter half of this century, nothing could be further from the truth. What particularly disappointed me was the editors' need to give commentary before and after many of the speeches, as if this book would be someone's first jaunt into American history. These editorials, which further display the editors' blatant political bias, add nothing to the book at all - in fact they take away from it.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Collection of Speeches
Review: Whether you are a political liberal, conservative, right-wing, left-wing, or any "wing" for that matter, this is a good book. It is a collection of speeches that were actually presented (and some that were revamped and thus not presented). All the speeches, however, are from this century. Thus, the book should be read for what it is, (and not as a political statement by the editors, which may not be the case) a collection of actual speeches. The speeches include Theodore Roosevelt condemnation speech of the "Muckrakers," the Rev. Dr. Donald Sage Mackey's speech titled, "Does God Care?" presented after the San Francisco earthquake that practically destroyed most of the city in the early 1900's, speeches from Mark Twain, anarchist Emma Goldman, car maker Henry Ford, President Woodrow Wilson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, George Patton, etc. The speeches go on and on for about 450 pages. The book is very informative and presents a history of words, so to speak. These are the famous words that have been herald throughout the 20th century. The book cajoles your senses, tweaks your intellect, and challenges your positions. It has been very fascinating reading for me and I highly recommend the book, esp. for those who love history.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Collection of Speeches
Review: Whether you are a political liberal, conservative, right-wing, left-wing, or any "wing" for that matter, this is a good book. It is a collection of speeches that were actually presented (and some that were revamped and thus not presented). All the speeches, however, are from this century. Thus, the book should be read for what it is, (and not as a political statement by the editors, which may not be the case) a collection of actual speeches. The speeches include Theodore Roosevelt condemnation speech of the "Muckrakers," the Rev. Dr. Donald Sage Mackey's speech titled, "Does God Care?" presented after the San Francisco earthquake that practically destroyed most of the city in the early 1900's, speeches from Mark Twain, anarchist Emma Goldman, car maker Henry Ford, President Woodrow Wilson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, George Patton, etc. The speeches go on and on for about 450 pages. The book is very informative and presents a history of words, so to speak. These are the famous words that have been herald throughout the 20th century. The book cajoles your senses, tweaks your intellect, and challenges your positions. It has been very fascinating reading for me and I highly recommend the book, esp. for those who love history.
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