Overview

This is a witty, elegant enquiry into the art of persuasion. Rhetoric is what gives words power. It's nothing to be afraid of. It isn't the exclusive preserve of politicians: it's everywhere, from your argument with the insurance company to your plea to the waitress for a table near the window. It convicts criminals (and then frees them on appeal). It causes governments to rise and fall, best men to be shunned by brides, and people to march with steady purpose toward machine guns. In this highly entertaining (and persuasive) book, Sam Leith examines how people have taught, practiced and thought about rhetoric from its Attic origins to its twenty first century apotheosis. Along the way, he tells the stories of its heroes and villain from Cicero and Erasmus, to Hitler, Obama - and Gyles Brandreth.

Full Product Details

Author:   Sam Leith
Publisher:   Profile Books Ltd
Imprint:   Profile Books Ltd
ISBN:  

9781846683169

ISBN 10:   1846683165
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   05 July 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Reviews

'Reading this book is the equivalent of lounging in a leather club armchair, wreathed in cigar smoke and a couple of whiskies down, alongside a companion who's being funny and clever about Homer and Hello! magazine by turns.' (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) 'Entertaining... You finish this book more than ready to rock a first in rhetoric.' (Hermione Eyre, Evening Standard) 'This is the best available analysis' (Boris Johnson)

Author Information

Sam Leith is a former Literary Editor of the Daily Telegraph, and contributes regularly to the Evening Standard, Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Spectator and Prospect. He's the author of two nonfiction books: Dead Pets and Sod's Law and a novel, The Coincidence Engine.

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