Eugene Talmadge - (Great American Orators) by Cal M Logue & Calvin McLeod Logue (Hardcover)

About the Book

In this third volume of Greenwood's Great American Orators series, Logue delineates the oratory career of Eugene Talmadge whose public speaking illustrates the use--and some would say the abuse--of a most necessary democratic institution: free speech in the political arena. Logue notes in Talmadge's speeches the seeds of today's public discourse, preoccupied as it often is with distorting issues and conduct. Talmadge based his political rise in Georgia on appeals to the experiences, values, and prejudices of his listeners; perceptions that were geographic, social, and racial. For Talmadge, campaign issues were ultimately less important than his colorful persona and seductive public oratory--a brand of politics that came to be known as Talmadgeism. This volume represents a landmark study in the genre of rhetoric by which citizens and issues are exploited primarily for personal political goals.

In Part I, Logue presents critical analyses of Talmadge's political and persuasive strategies and performances, plus an assessment of people's responses to them. Part II contains authoritative speech texts representative of Talmadge's campaign oratory and post-election rhetoric defending his policies and causes. A definitive bibliography contains important primary and secondary materials that relate to both the man and his works. The chronology of speeches includes places, dates, and lists of most of the orator's known speeches and addresses. Students and scholars of the history and criticism of American public address as well as students of the American democratic process and southern politics will find Eugene Talmadge: Rhetoric and Response an important addition to both their libraries and their thinking on this vital subject.

Book Synopsis

In this third volume of Greenwood's Great American Orators series, Logue delineates the oratory career of Eugene Talmadge whose public speaking illustrates the use--and some would say the abuse--of a most necessary democratic institution: free speech in the political arena. Logue notes in Talmadge's speeches the seeds of today's public discourse, preoccupied as it often is with distorting issues and conduct. Talmadge based his political rise in Georgia on appeals to the experiences, values, and prejudices of his listeners; perceptions that were geographic, social, and racial. For Talmadge, campaign issues were ultimately less important than his colorful persona and seductive public oratory--a brand of politics that came to be known as Talmadgeism. This volume represents a landmark study in the genre of rhetoric by which citizens and issues are exploited primarily for personal political goals.

In Part I, Logue presents critical analyses of Talmadge's political and persuasive strategies and performances, plus an assessment of people's responses to them. Part II contains authoritative speech texts representative of Talmadge's campaign oratory and post-election rhetoric defending his policies and causes. A definitive bibliography contains important primary and secondary materials that relate to both the man and his works. The chronology of speeches includes places, dates, and lists of most of the orator's known speeches and addresses. Students and scholars of the history and criticism of American public address as well as students of the American democratic process and southern politics will find Eugene Talmadge: Rhetoric and Response an important addition to both their libraries and their thinking on this vital subject.

Review Quotes

.,."This book is a valuable contribution to the study of American oratory, yet it is not easy reading. Its many quotations, while necessary to illustrate the author's points, are frustrating. Some paragraphs must be read two or three times to grasp their message. Fortunatley, the message is worth the extra effort."-The Journal of Southern History

?. . . By giving the reader detailed accounts of the major campaigns and speeches, Logue truly has recreated for the reader the aura and appeal of Talmadgeism. The reader can readily envision the fly-swatting, barbecue-fed-audiences exhorting Talmadge to "tell us about it!" The book also includes the texts of Talmadge's major addresses. Professor Logue is to be commended for a superb analysis of Talmadge's career. . . .?-Atlanta History

?...This book is a valuable contribution to the study of American oratory, yet it is not easy reading. Its many quotations, while necessary to illustrate the author's points, are frustrating. Some paragraphs must be read two or three times to grasp their message. Fortunatley, the message is worth the extra effort.?-The Journal of Southern History

..."This book is a valuable contribution to the study of American oratory, yet it is not easy reading. Its many quotations, while necessary to illustrate the author's points, are frustrating. Some paragraphs must be read two or three times to grasp their message. Fortunatley, the message is worth the extra effort."-The Journal of Southern History

." . . By giving the reader detailed accounts of the major campaigns and speeches, Logue truly has recreated for the reader the aura and appeal of Talmadgeism. The reader can readily envision the fly-swatting, barbecue-fed-audiences exhorting Talmadge to "tell us about it!" The book also includes the texts of Talmadge's major addresses. Professor Logue is to be commended for a superb analysis of Talmadge's career. . . ."-Atlanta History

About the Author

CALVIN McLEOD LOGUE is a Professor at the University of Georgia who specializes in the history and criticism of southern discourse. He published essays on southern rhetoric in Communication Monographs and Quarterly Journal of Speech. He wrote one of the essays in Oratory in the New South, and coedited Oratory of Southern Demagogues and A New Diversity in Contemporary Southern Rhetoric. He contributed essays to American Orators Before 1900: Critical Studies and Sources and American Orators of the Twentieth Century: Critical Studies and Sources. The Research Foundation of the University of Georgia awarded Logue the Creative Research Medal for published analysis of southern discourse.