Perspective

The book is presented as a series of speeches that range from Ancient Greece to the 1990s; the majority are from the 1900s, with a great many from the 1930s through the 1950s. As a general rule, these speeches are presented in first person from the speaker's perspective. The perspective is limited to that of the speaker as a rule, though the speakers have a general view of the world at large. This means that the speeches include information that would not be personally known to the speaker except that the speakers are often office-holders in governmental capacities. It should be noted, however, that the speeches are still limited by the prejudices of the speakers. For example, Adolf Hitler talks of the press campaign to slur his reputation. Booker T. Washington speaks of the need for blacks and whites to extend the hands of friendship but Malcolm X...