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Basic Books

Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama

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Title

Title: Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama
Author: Sam Leith
I9781720167662: 1708741
ISBN: 9780465096190
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 2016
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Edition: Reprint
Number of Pages: 336
Section: Political Science | History & Theory | General
Condition Note: Clean, unmarked copy with some edge wear. Good binding. Dust jacket included if issued with one. We ship in recyclable American-made mailers. 100% money-back guarantee on all orders.
Publisher Description: "An entertaining history of great oratory" and a primer to rhetoric's key techniques (The New Yorker).

Rhetoric gives our words the power to inspire. But it's not just for politicians: it's all around us, whether you're 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, don't 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/DC's "Back In Black". Before you know it, you'll be confident in chiasmus and proud of your panegyrics-- because rhetoric is useful, relevant, and absolutely nothing to be afraid of.