Customer Reviews

Mastering Public Speaking, Fifth Edition

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The book is very informative. It has cheatsheets printed on the back cover. There is also information to help you with your first speech because the author realized that speeches would be prepared before the student could finish reading the book.

I'd considered buying this book from Amazon, and decided to first examine a copy at the Boston Public Library. I was unimpressed. The tone seems aimed at middle-school students, and the text is littered with patronizing "Dick & Jane" anecdotes. A quick glance through the table of contents suggests that Grice and Skinner address nearly every conceivable aspect of public speaking -- but a closer examination reveals a complete lack of depth. It seems as if they simply brainstormed ways to add pages without actually investigating their subject.

The most derelict example I found was the second chapter, devoted entirely to a discussion of ethics. This chapter includes a section on plagiarism, where Grice and Skinner define plagiarism and warn students that getting caught may result in failing a class or being expelled from school -- hardly the sort of information you'd expect from a college-level textbook. Meanwhile, Grice and Skinner lazily sidestep the most challenging issue -- the employment of speechwriters -- by confining its mention to a brief, rhetorical question among the chapter-end exercises. In other words: "Here's a complex issue. We've exhausted our space with rudimentary ones, but we encourage you to do some real work on your own!"

There are some informative, useful books on public speaking. Richard Dowis and James Humes have each written excellent books on crafting and delivering a speech. Virgil Anderson and Ann Utterback have written valuable books on training your voice, and Livingston Taylor and Keith Johnstone have written classics on stage performance. My suggestion is to skip this book. I was thoroughly disappointed with its lack of ambition, and I'd hate to be stuck with a professor who found it respectable.

I had to use this book for a public speaking class and found it to be quite tiring to get through. Its few good ideas and suggestions are easily lost within its high-school approach and broad conjectures about communication.

Its sad that a company has to charge 90 dollars for a book and put a magazine thickness cover on it. And further charge an arm and a leg for a book that has been out in print for many years. 7th edition, give me a break. The book is complete and tough.

This text should be titled "Fundamentals of Public Speaking," not "Mastering Public Speaking," but do not take that as a criticism of the text. For an entry level text, this book provides what most students should learn about the fundamentals of public speaking. Nurses, medical technicians, computer geeks, and childcare workers are not usually interested in voice training and stage performance, as another reviewer has suggested, they are simply interested in learning how to speak in public with some confidence and without being petrified when doing so. This text can accomplish that.

Very good quality for the price with which was purchased. I recommend this seller to anyone looking for books for cheap.

This is a book I needed for a class I was taking ; it was the required book for the class and at a great bargain.

The book was here on time and in good condition. Will buy from this company again!

AlamoBook Rentals did well with the shipping times. The book was delivered in 5 business days from the day of the purchase. The item was fine in condition and reinforced with duct and scotch tape on the edges and advertising on the book. This is a fine textbook provider for Bexar county and beyond. This store features rentals with significant savings to limited-funding students. I would recommend and would use this textbook provider for future purchases.

The book was in god condition. No markings or anything. Would use this seller again.