We Shall Fight on the Beaches: The Speeches That Inspired History

A collection of extracts from the most rousing and inspirational wartime speeches of the last 2,500 years—Cicero to Churchill, Lincoln to Mao

Prefaced by brief historical and biographical introductions, the examples of incredible war speeches in this book show how words can be used to inspire, to comfort, to move, or to enthuse even the most seemingly hard-bitten of listeners. From rallying cries such as the Italian general Garibaldi's "To arms, then, all of you!" and Premier of the People's Republic of China Chou En-lai's "We must hold aloft the great red banner" to somber statements such as Bengali nationalist leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's "This time the struggle is for our freedom," each extract gives readers an insight into the hardships of war and the fight for courage. Spanning more than two millennia and with speeches from across the globe, this is a book to inspire and inflame the reader.