{"product_id":"all-we-say-the-battle-for-american-identity-a-history-in-15-speeches-9780593595121","title":"All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide?\u003c\/i\u003e This sweeping history of the United States told through fifteen speeches relives the battle over American identity, from a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author and one of President Barack Obama's former speechwriters. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"At a time of moral and political drift, Ben Rhodes reminds us what American greatness actually sounds like, and what it means.\"--Ayad Akhtar, author of \u003ci\u003eHomeland Elegies\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor 250 years, we have debated what it means to be American. This question shaped the compromises in our Constitution and the arguments we've been having ever since--spawning abolitionism, secession, and civil war; populism, mass migration, and global leadership; movements for reform and the backlashes to them. In \u003ci\u003eAll We Say\u003c\/i\u003e, Ben Rhodes tells the story of fifteen speeches--some iconic, others long forgotten--which have both shaped and reflected the argument Americans have been having from our founding to the intense divisions of our time. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThrough riveting and beautifully rendered accounts of the people, movements, and moments that produced these speeches, Rhodes traces the history of our battle over identity. The result is a singular and revealing portrait of America itself: 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, Rhodes also shows us how words can redirect a nation, what makes a speech enduring, and why oratory is a unique form of persuasion in American democracy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom 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, \u003ci\u003eAll We Say\u003c\/i\u003e offers a fresh and powerful look at who we really are and who we could still become.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ben Rhodes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Random House\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/26\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 432\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.60lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.51h x 6.78w x 1.31d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593595121\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBen Rhodes \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestsellers \u003ci\u003eAfter the Fall \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe World as It Is, \u003c\/i\u003eco-host of \u003ci\u003ePod Save the World, \u003c\/i\u003ea contributing opinion writer for the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, a contributor for MS NOW, and a former deputy national security advisor and speechwriter to President Barack Obama.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Ben Rhodes \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":48363616305309,"sku":"9780593595121","price":42.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_479ebac4-a716-4d8c-9cfc-4c1b2034b6db.jpg?v=1780427638","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/all-we-say-the-battle-for-american-identity-a-history-in-15-speeches-9780593595121","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}