Minutes April book: Speeches that Changed the World

Minutes April book: Speeches that Changed the World with intro by Simon Sebag Montefiore

(chosen by JM)

JM chose this book on the suggestion of a former No.1 Melbourne Ladies Bookclub member now residing in the wild West (JL). JL had said that it looked fantastic. She hadn't actually read it herself - but this is from a bookclub member who once chose the month's book (Dingo: The Story of Our Mob by Ernie Dingo) and then turned up to the discussion meeting having not actually read it herself...so we completely understood!

JM was intrigued by the idea of placing some of those famous lines from speeches into their original context by reading the full text of the speeches.

Simon Sebag Montefiore wrote the introduction to this book. He was born in 1965, educated at Harrow School and read history at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge University.

He is the award-winning author of the bestselling books Young Stalin, Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar and Catherine the Great & Potemkin.His new novel, Sashenka, published under the name 'Simon Montefiore', has been sold in 14 languages including Russian.

His next history book is Jerusalem: the Biography, a fresh history of the Middle East. He has recently selected his heroes from history, published as 'Heroes: History's Greatest Men and Women' and his anti-heroes published as Monsters: History's Most Evil Men and Women.

Montefiore is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and lives in London with his wife, the novelist Santa Montefiore, and their two children.

(General biographical detail from Simon Sebag Montefiore's own website)

What the publisher says about this book:

Over 50 of the world's greatest speeches, the stories behind them and biographies of each speaker, including: Elizabeth I; Charles I; Oliver Cromwell; George Washington; Napolean; Emmeline Pankhurst; Marie Curie; Mahatma Gandhi; Stalin; Winston Churchill; Charles de Gaulle; John F Kennedy; Martin Luther King; Mother Teresa; Nelson Mandela; and many others from throughout history whose words have motivated, given hope to and sometimes terrified those who heard them.

Inspiring and thought-provoking, Speeches that Changed the World provides a unique perspective on the major turning points in history.

What we discussed about the book:

• What was Simon Sebag Montefiore's role in the book? Was it purely the writing of the introduction? (Earlier editions do not contain his intro.) Was it just a marketing ploy to use his name to promote the anonymously compiled and edited book?
• Why were some of the speeches chosen?
• Did ever speech 'change the world'?
• What constitutes a 'great speech' - is it the content, or the delivery?
• How different is it to read words on paper that are intended to be received aurally?
• Did we listen to the CD provided with the book? In what ways did that enhance our understanding of the speeches?
• Was there too much or too little introductory information for each speech?
• Would we have liked more analysis of the aftermath of the delivery of each speech?
• Why were so many of the speeches by lawyers?
• Did we think there were omissions of content - eg the Labour Movement/8 hour day movement?
• Was this a book targeted at high school students?
• What is the role of speechwriters? Should they be acknowledged, or does the giver of the speech ultimately 'own' the words?

And then we were sidetracked into:

• Do speeches need to be heard in context to have the effect intended?
• With hindsight, how differently do we interpret words spoken years earlier?
• If Simon Sebag Montefiore didn't have anything to do with the editing of the book what benefit is there in writing an introduction and having your name associated with it? Is it purely a commercial transaction? Does it add to your 'brand' as an author?
• Has modern media and the age of the soundbite changed the way speeches are written?
• Do modern audiences have less tolerance for long-winded orations?
• Can you teach the skill of good oration or is it something people are born with?
• What would we include in a volume entitled, "Speeches that Changed Australia?" (e.g Rudd's Sorry day speech, Whitlam's dismissal speech, Menzies announcing war, Keating's victory speech.) What ones by non-politicians would we include?
• How do you use silence in a speech for effect?

In other news:

• We discussed GPS systems and whether the voices could be any more annoying.
• Does Australia need a new standardised system of clothing sizing - how does 'Country Road' sizing compare with department store sizing?
• Who remembered the community service announcements that ran on Channel Nine TV in Perth in the 1970s/80s? Vitamins and Minerals, Mum Knows , Dingalings do Stupid Things, and Dirt & Germs. (Click on the links to watch them on YouTube - ahhhhh for the days when mums were so revered!)

Ratings:

Ratings range: 6 to 8

Ratings average: 6.81

Next book: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (chosen by T-Rex)