21 Speeches That Shaped Our World (Paperback)

In this fascinating book, Chris Abbott, a leading political analyst, takes a close look at 21 key speeches which have shaped the world today. He examines the power of the arguments embedded in these speeches to inspire people to achieve great things, or do great harm.

Abbott draws upon his political expertise to explain how our current understanding of the world is rooted in pivotal moment of history. These moments are captured in the words of a range of influential, including: Emmeline Pankhurst, Martin Luther King, Jr, Enoch Powell, Napoleon Beazley, Kevin Rudd, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden, Margaret Beckett, Winston Churchill, Salvador Allende, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Tim Collins, Mohandas Gandhi, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Robin Cook, Deval Patrick, Marie Fatayi-Williams and Barak Obama.

The speeches in this book are arranged thematically, linked by concepts such as 'might is right', 'with us or against us' and 'give peace a chance'. Each transcript is accompanied by an insightful commentary that analyses how the words relate to our modern society. Fresh and relevant, this is a book that will make you stop in your tracks and think about what is really happening in the world today.

About the Author
Chris Abbott is a freelance writer and researcher specialising in international and security affairs. He is Sustainable Security Consultant to the Oxford Research Group (one of Europe's leading international security think tanks, of which he was Deputy Director until 2009) and Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford. His first book, Beyond Terror: The Truth About the Real Threats to Our World, co-authored with Paul Rogers and John Sloboda, is published by Rider and is now available in five languages.