All We Say

Name: All We Say
Price: 69.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781847928887

A History of the United States in Fifteen Speeches

Ben Rhodes

$69.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

The Bodley Head Ltd
28 May 2026

History of the Americas; Politics & government

A vital account of fifteen speeches and orators - from Benjamin Franklin to Barack Obama - that tells the story of the United States as a battle over what it means to be an American, from a New York Times bestselling author and former presidential speechwriter

What does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide?

This sweeping history of the United States through fifteen key speeches relives the battle for American identity - from a New York Times bestselling author and one of President Obama's former speechwriters.

For 250 years, America has debated what it means to be American. The question shaped the compromises in their constitution and the arguments they've had ever since, spawning abolitionism, secession and civil war, populism, mass migration and global leadership, movements for reform and the backlashes to them. All We Say tells the story of the United States through fifteen speeches - some iconic, others long forgotten, all pivotal - from its founding to the intense divisions of our times.

Through riveting and beautifully rendered accounts of the people, movements and moments that produced these speeches, Rhodes traces the history of America's battle over identity. The result is a singular and revealing portrait of the United States- a nation divided between two stories - one of inheritance, power, and exclusion, the other of equality, striving, and belonging. Drawing on a decade writing for Barack Obama, Ben Rhodes also reveals how words can redirect a nation, what makes a speech enduring, and why oratory is a unique form of persuasion in a democracy.

From Benjamin Franklin's call for compromise at the Constitutional Convention to Alexander Stephens' case for white supremacy as the cornerstone of the Confederacy, from Martin Luther King's dream of true equality to Donald Trump's rallying cry against democracy itself, these speeches remind us that history is a living argument. At a time when American identity - and truth - is contested, All We Say offers a fresh and powerful look at who America really us, and who it could still become.

By: Ben Rhodes
Imprint: The Bodley Head Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 750g
ISBN: 9781847928887
ISBN 10: 1847928889
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 28 May 2026
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

From 2009 to 2017, Ben Rhodes served as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama overseeing the Administration's national security communications, speechwriting, public diplomacy and global engagement programming. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, from 2007-2008 Rhodes was a senior speech-writer and foreign policy advisor to the Obama campaign. Before joining then Senator Obama's campaign, he worked for former Congressman Lee Hamilton from 2002-2007. He was the co-author, with Tom Keen and Lee Hamilton, of Without Precedent- The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission. A native New Yorker, Rhodes has a B.A. from Rice University and an M.F.A. from New York University.

Reviews for All We Say: A History of the United States in Fifteen Speeches

Ben Rhodes is a true wordsmith, both consummate and passionate. All We Say is a marvellous, highly readable reminder of how words – both written and spoken – can make history and determine a nation’s identity -- Sir Peter Westmacott