Stephen E. Lucas is Evjue-Bascom Professor in the Humanities, Department of Communication Arts, at University of Wisconsin. Martin J. Medhurst is Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric and Communication at Baylor University.

"Words of a Century is simply the best anthology of its kind. It is edited by two of the best rhetorical critics in the business, and the speeches were chosen on the basis of their artistry and impact through a survey of 137 communication scholars. The headnotes are insightful and historically accurate, and the texts have been painstakingly authenticated--a rarity in such works. There is no comparable collection of great American speeches. No seriousstudent of rhetoric should be without it."--J. Michael Hogan, Pennsylvania State University"Moments of political crisis beget some of the best and most memorable instances of political oratory. This magnificently researched and carefully annotated collection reminds us just how close the connection is between our shared political life and our public speech. This volume is a unique and invaluable resource for students and scholars alike on the history, politics, and oratory of the twentieth century."--Mary E. Stuckey, Georgia State University

• THE CENTURY BEGINS; WORLD WAR I, DISSENT, AND WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE; THE ROARING TWENTIES AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION; WORLD WAR II AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE COLD WAR; MCCARTHYISM, KOREA, AND THE NUCLEAR ERA; THE AGE OF CAMELOT; RACE, POVERTY, AND DISSENSION; VIETNAM AND OTHER DISCONTENTS; WATERGATE AND ITS AFTERMATH; CONSERVATISM, LIBERALISM, AND THE END OF THE COLD WAR; THE 1990S