This post’s flavor is North American. Another time I might focus on British or antipodean work.
If you’re a communicator, you’re interested in diction, and William Safire’s On Language column in the New York Times will be a useful and enjoyable reference. Safire writes well on clarity and precision.
Safire was a Nixon speechwriter and has written several books–mostly to do with language and politics–but his book, Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History, is the best collection of speeches I’ve found in print. Safire added to and aided the anthology with his own explanatory preface to every entry.
If you want good advice about speech making, read the late Jack Valenti’s Speak Up with Confidence: How to Prepare, Learn, and Deliver Effective Speeches. Valenti was Lyndon B. Johnson’s speech writer before moving on to lead the Motion Picture Association in Hollywood for nearly forty years.
Peggy Noonan was a Reagan speechwriter (and remains a vocal Reagan apologist) and writes weekly for the Wall Street Journal. Noonan’s book, On Speaking Well, is neither as thorough nor specific as Valenti’s, but it’s also worth reading. (It’s companion book, On Writing Well, by William Zinsser is excellent.)
Finally (for now) on the topic of speechwriters, New Yorker liberal columnist, Hendrik Hertzberg, wrote for Jimmy Carter. Hertzberg’s book, Politics: Observations & Arguments, is a gem filled collection of his reportage spanning forty years of reflections on culture, politics and media.
Valenti seated l. as LBJ sworn in
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