American Heritage Book of Great American Speeches for Young People

What a marvelous way to broaden an understanding of life and American culture by reading a book of imporant speeches! This is a great collection. The eulogy at the Marine Corp cemetry on Iwo Jima, the Coatesville Address and a poem by Langston Hughes are a few jewels of discovery in this book. I found myself transported to those times and places. I think this is a marvelous reader for young people who are trying to discover and create a world for themselves.

As a first year high school speech coach, I searched for books to serve as resources for my students. This one was one of my favorites! The American Heritage Book of Great American Speeches for Young People, edited by Suzanne McIntire, has proven itself to be a valuable resource for my students. It's a thoughtful collection of famous (and not-so-famous) speeches, ranging from the year 1609 to the year 2000. The authors or speakers in the collection are varied; there is a great mix of male and female speakers. Many popular athletes, passionate activists, and American leaders are included. The editor has given the reader valuable setting, context, and background information as well, which helps the younger student to understand the theme for each speech. My students and I use this book often--it's truly a great resource.

This is a great resource for teachers. Students often are overwhelmed when they try to find and use original source material. This well organized work brings together many important speeches in American history and politics. Interestingly I found the book during a field trip to the United States Supreme Court. The bookshop in the basement of the Court stocks a number of valuable books and memorabilia. Finding this collection of speeches made the trip an even more successful look at our government in action.

This fine anthology of American eloquence reflects a wide cross-section of orators, important both for their factual content and their emotional power. The men, women, and young people who spoke these words were actors in many dramas of American history; their words were aimed to provoke their listeners to respond, to change the conditions of their times. These documents display the ideas of little-known as well as prominent speakers during four centuries. Along with each speech, the editor provides a short clear introduction of the orator and the occasion when he or she spoke. Altogether, McIntire provides a wonderful body of evidence about the American past, and a splendid capsule view of the nation's history.

I was thrilled with this book for many reasons. I teach English 9 and have coached speech and debate for over 20 years. In these days of standardized tests, the ability to read nonfiction is key to achieving good scores. It is refreshing to use speeches which correlate to the curriculum and help students understand the relevance between verbal and written language.As a coach, for years, I would delve into a multitude of sources to find material for our speech event, called Declamation--where students read/memorize speeches given in a public forum and present it in their voice. There is such a variety of material here that a teacher in any curriculum could find a use for this text. I also teach a course for struggling readers and this text is wonderful for those students who need practice in articulation, and content understanding. Copies of this text should be in every library and classroom.