{"product_id":"all-we-say-the-battle-for-american-identity-a-history-in-15-speeches","title":"All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches","description":"\u003ch1\u003eAll We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches\u003c\/h1\u003eBen Rhodes\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Random House\u003cbr\u003eMay 26 2026\u003cbr\u003eEAN: 9780593595121\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 0593595122\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eItems marked as \u003cb\u003eWAREHOUSE\u003c\/b\u003e may take additional time to be delivered to your address or picked up in the store.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSynopsis: \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER \u003ci\u003e- What 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","brand":"27th Letter Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67391613665325,"sku":"WHS-a40e5842b5a04ceca251eb0b91149b98","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0673\/3588\/0749\/files\/original_3d08e6a9-cdb0-4640-893f-fc64a77a327f.jpg?v=1787355832","url":"https:\/\/27thletterbooks.com\/products\/all-we-say-the-battle-for-american-identity-a-history-in-15-speeches","provider":"27th Letter Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}