Undelivered
The Never-Heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History
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Description de l’éditeur
A fascinating insight into notable speeches that were never delivered, showing what could have been if history had gone down a different path
For almost every delivered speech, there exists an undelivered opposite. These "second speeches" provide alternative histories of what could have been if not for schedule changes, changes of heart, or momentous turns of events.
In Undelivered, political speechwriter Jeff Nussbaum presents the most notable speeches the public never heard, from Dwight Eisenhower’s apology for a D-Day failure to Richard Nixon’s refusal to resign the presidency, and even Hillary Clinton’s acceptance for a 2016 victory—the latter never seen until now.
Examining the content of these speeches and the context of the historic moments that almost came to be, Nussbaum considers not only what they tell us about the past but also what they can inform us about our present.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Veteran speechwriter Nussbaum (coauthor, Intelligence Matters) examines in this intriguing account prepared speeches that, due to unforeseen circumstances, a change of mind, or outside pressure, were never delivered. Drawing on his experiences as a speechwriter for Al Gore, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, Nussbaum analyzes such unheard addresses as John Lewis's fiery draft remarks for the 1963 March on Washington, in which he planned to call on civil rights activists to "march through the South... the way Sherman did" and "burn Jim Crow to the ground." Elsewhere, Nussbaum documents Richard Nixon's waffling over whether to resign or make the case that "the evidence against him wasn't as damning as it appeared"; analyzes whether an "apology" speech Japanese emperor Hirohito considered giving in the aftermath of WWII might have "raised the question of war responsibility and perhaps required to abdicate"; and notes that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower was prepared to accept full responsibility if the Normandy invasion failed. Throughout, Nussbaum weaves in enlightening behind-the-scenes details about the process of speechwriting and makes a strong case for the power of speeches "to educate, inform, inspire, incite, and move people to action." The result is a fascinating look at what might have been.
