Customer Reviews

In Our Own Words: Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century

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The twentieth century has been called the American Century. Not only has American economic and military might molded of the history century, but at its conclusion, American ideas of democracy and freedom dominate the political discourse of the globe. In Our Own Words by Senator Robert Torricelli is a remarkable anthology of 150 speeches, which captures the pulse of this tumultuous time. Some of these speeches created history, others reflect the temper of the time, but all are engrossing; giving body to the American idea, in triumph and tragedy, humor and sorrow. this book belongs in the library of any serious student of history.

History has never been made so alive than in this excellent collection of speeches. What makes this book so powerful is that the events are not filtered through the eyes of a historian - the words speak for themselves. This book is an absolute must for anyone who loves history!

This is powerful and balanced collection that belongs in the collection of any serious student of history and the spoken word.

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 "Stop Being the String Along: A Relationship Guide to Being THE ONE" and 'If God Was Like Man'
Editor of inspire! magazine

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.

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.

It is in the interest of the agenda ridden individual, right or left, to besmirch any honest historical work. The USA is the most "progressive" nation on earth. A work that did not contain predominate "progressive" thought would not represent the nation of the 20th Century. I unfortunately can't rate this book with its current sold out state. It is also unfortunate that I can't submit a comment without including a rating. I gave it a 3 star that means nothing. I wish I lacked in integrity to the point of rating the book prior to reading it as those that have obviously done so already including the original critic!

Sure, the editors have included many apolitical works to legitimatize their collection. But the real agenda is obvious--the advancement of liberal political philosophies at the expense of objectivity. Not surprising though, since Torricelli is a leading member of the east-coast liberal establishment.