Eloquence in an Electronic Age: The Transformation of Political Speechmaking - Softcover

"An eye-opening, well-written text which clearly describes how radio and television have influenced our political discourse. No one can fully understand politics in the Electronic Era without consulting this fine volume."―David W. Anderson, Indiana University, South Bend

"In her most timely and instructive book, Eloquence in an Electronic Age, Jamieson...casts her learning on the political rhetoric (or 'eloquence') of today, drawing on fascinating comparisons with historical practice....Applying her own criteria, we see that Ms. Jamieson's work not only makes an excellent book, but it would make an excellent speech."―James David Barber, The New York Times Book Review

"Kathleen Hall Jamieson has produced an interesting, well-researched and indeed important book ..." Political Studies

"Stimulating and thoughtful....Jamieson takes us on a tour of rhetoric from the Greeks to Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan, with side trips to examine the problems of less successful communicators, such as Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter."―The Christian Science Monitor

"An excellent summary of a subject that in some ways touches us all. Jamieson's in-depth summaries of the speaking styles of Truman, Dewey, Reagan, Carter, Bush, and Ferraro are classic and classy."―Kirkus Reviews

"Jamieson's scholarship, her command of ideas, and her insights are superb."―Los Angeles Times

"A brilliant and engrossing study of how American rhetoric has changed over the years....Rich in anecdote, often extremely funny, scholarly, and somewhat unsettling."―The Washington Post Book World

"A brilliant and engrossing study of how American rhetoric has changed over the years. It is rich in anecdote, often extremely funny, scholarly, and somewhat unsettling....This is [also] an important book, about much more than highfalutin' phrasing. It is about our very soul as a nation, for what our leaders say reflects what we are.""―The Washington Post Book World

"In this important study of the impact of television on presidential rhetoric, Kathleen Hall Jamieson shows how successful (and not so successful) presidents have measured up to the demand for up-close and personal communication....Couldn't be more timely. It conveys an enormous amount of information, some of it academic, some of it anecdotal, with charm and wit and wisdom."―The Houston Post

"I'm extremely pleased by the integration of rhetorical theory with practical concerns of providing explanation and advice about political advice."―John McKiernan, University of South Dakota

In a book that blends anecdote with analysis, Kathleen Hall Jamieson-author of the award-winning "Packaging the Presidency"-offers a perceptive and often disturbing account of the transformation of political speechmaking. Jamieson addresses such fundamental issues about public speaking as what talents and techniques differentiate eloquent speakers from non-eloquent speakers. She also analyzes the speeches of modern presidents from Truman to Reagan and of political players from Daniel Webster to Mario Cuomo. Ranging from the classical orations of Cicero to Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, this lively, well-documented volume contains a wealth of insight into public speaking, contemporary characteristics of eloquence, and the future of political discourse in America.