Short Speeches

Whether you need to give a wedding toast as a best man or maid of honor, a retirement speech, an award or promotion speech, or any other kind of toast, this handbook offers you a done-for-you blueprint to help you organize your thoughts and turn giving a toast into a painless, stress-free process. As a clear, concise, and no-fluff book that you can enjoy in just a weekend or less, Toast: Short Speeches, Big Impact is an invaluable tool for anybody scared of public speaking—or short on ideas.

The critically acclaimed journalist and best-selling author of The Rage of a Privileged Class explores one of the most essential rights in America - free speech - and reveals how it is crumbling under the combined weight of polarization, technology, money and systematized lying in this concise yet powerful and timely book.

Many people dread public speaking. And yet we all find ourselves forced to make a speech at some point in our lives and suffer the same inevitable anxieties: will my jokes fall flat? What if I freeze up? Is it okay to read notes? What if people walk out? This book will not magically transform you into a fast-talking, high-flying hotshot. But it does hope to teach you how to be adequate at public speaking - and, with a spot of luck, you might turn out to be 'rather good'.

After Reece Matthews' sister is sexually assaulted he begins a video blog. It's his way of getting his head around it all and easing the pain. As he tells the story viewing figures grow. But when the perpetrators of the crime are let out on bail Reece cannot subdue his feelings. He announces the names and address of the men who assaulted his sister and a social justice takes place. Reece is arrested and charged with inciting violence, which leaves him to question whether the government is overreaching its authority and the future of his country.  

These stories are the sort of tales that you might hear in a pub or bar from Land's End to John-o-Groat's, from Dublin to Durham. These are reflections on anything from weather and inquisitive neighbors to a passion for music and how it can help handicapped children. At times amusing, surprising, entertaining, or simply hard to believe, they are all related in the kind of natural informal style that native speakers use in everyday talk.

One man, more than any other, has helped define the most important issues of our time. His name is Ronald Reagan, one of our nation's most powerful and popular Presidents. This extraordinary audio collection includes historical excerpts from selected addresses that span his political career, laying out his vision for America and the world.