Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama

Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama by Leith, Sam. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780465096190.

"An entertaining history of great oratory" and a primer to rhetorics key techniques (The New Yorker). Rhetoric gives our words the power to inspire. But its not just for politicians: its all around us, whether youre buttering up a key client or persuading your children to eat their vegetables. You have been using rhetoric yourself, all your life. After all, you know what a rhetorical question is, dont you? In Words Like Loaded Pistols, Sam Leith traces the art of argument from ancient Greece down to its many modern mutations. He introduces verbal villains from Hitler to Richard Nixon—and the three musketeers: ethos, pathos and logos. He explains how rhetoric works in speeches from Cicero to Obama, and pays tribute to the rhetorical brilliance of AC/DCs "Back In Black". Before you know it, youll be confident in chiasmus and proud of your panegyrics— because rhetoric is useful, relevant, and absolutely nothing to be afraid of.