Tired of the rhetoric in this year's political campaigns? There's a lot more of it coming, and some of it might be uplifting.
If you take that optimistic viewpoint, you'll likely have company in British writer and editor Sam Leith. He views the high and low points of the history of persuasive speech in his book Words Like Loaded Pistols.
From Cicero to Simpson (Homer), it's a rich history. Sam Leith visits with some of the highlights.