Rate this book

¿Me Hablas A Mí? (2012)

by Sam Leith(Favorite Author)

3.75 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Editorial Taurus

review 1: A very nice and broad introduction into the field of rhetorics. The book covers the classic modes and topics, with many references to both ancient and modern speakers and writers, from Aristotle to Obama through Lincoln, Luther King or Hitler.Most chapters include many examples of different rhetoric figures and how they can be used for different purposes and situations.The entire book is oriented toward politics (I missed more references to other applications such as marketing or social life), which is kind of disappointing since many of us will never have a career in politics. However, it's interesting to note that I could recognize most of what's exposed here in today's political class. Many people (including myself) usually have a sense of being fooled by politicians. T... morehis book helps modelling and structuring that feeling. This reading is both easy and enjoyable, a good staring point for anyone interested in this subject.
review 2: It is likely that many people, at least those for whom English is their first language, will have come across at some time in their lives speeches featuring phrases such as `for the people, by the people, of the people'; `I have come to bury Caesar not to praise him' and `We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender', and so on, and been impressed and possibly moved to action by hearing them. Indeed, even if one considers the power of the word in more mundane circumstances than those providing the context for the examples mentioned above it is reasonable to suggest that the ebb and flow of our moods are dictated, at least to some extent, even if unconsciously, by the words we here all the time. Consider, for instance, those which form the book's title: on hearing these emanating from the mouth of Travis Bickle it doesn't take much imagination to surmise the effect produced in the mind of their recipient! In terms of persuasion, then, if the sword (or knife, or gun) is more immediately so, then words can do almost as good a job and, in all likelihood, their effect resonates for much longer down the years.The book, therefore, is about words and their use as the basic building blocks of rhetoric. Leith does a marvellous job of conveying the aforementioned power, providing snippets of many of the most memorable speeches of ancient and more modern times whilst, in the process, explaining just how their authors best employed those rules first outlined several millennia before the present day by such acknowledged masters of rhetoric as Cicero, Shakespeare, Churchill and Obama: even the Devil and Hitler get a look in!It is, as might be expected, well written, informative, witty and entertaining and a must read for all who love language and believe in its power to persuade; for better or for worse. less

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