Start With a Laugh: An Insider's Guide to Roasts, Toasts, Eulogies, and Other Speeches [Hardcover]

Liz Carpenter (Author), Sondra Williamson Runnells (Contributor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 262 pages
• Publisher: Eakin Press; Second Printing edition (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571684115
• ISBN-13: 978-1571684110
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,222,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh-Out-Loud Funny!, April 15, 2008

By 

Story Circle Book Reviews - See all my reviews

This review is from: Start With a Laugh: An Insider's Guide to Roasts, Toasts, Eulogies, and Other Speeches (Hardcover)

When I met Liz Carpenter at the 2004 Story Circle Writers Conference, I was completely blown away by her dynamic personality. True to her formula for giving a speech, she "started with a laugh, put the meat in the middle, and waved the flag at the end." After listening to her, I knew I had to get this book, and am I glad I did.

You would think that a book about speechwriting, speechmaking, and speeches would put you to sleep. On the contrary, it is laugh-out-loud funny with a few tears thrown in, in addition to being very instructional. It also covers fifty-odd years of Liz's association with American political figures, background on some important historical events, and a wealth of personal anecdotes about her life. But what I love most is that she is not ashamed to say that she is an active crusader for women's rights.

If you like reading about a strong, competent woman, get this book.

by Doris Anne Roop-Benner
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, February 13, 2008

By 

Marguerita McManus "Marguerita" (Alaska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Start With a Laugh: An Insider's Guide to Roasts, Toasts, Eulogies, and Other Speeches (Hardcover)

The only valuable information in this book is the title. The rest is a "pat myself on the back" biography that is endlessly repetitive. Not a "how to" book for writing or presenting speeches at all, just a memoir of the "good old days".