An engaging exploration of how people have taught, practiced, and thought about rhetoricfrom the Iron Age to today

An entertaining history of great oratory. New Yorker

Rhetoric gives our words the power to inspire. But its not just for politicians: its all around us, whether youre buttering up a key client or persuading your children to eat their vegetables. You have been using rhetoric yourself, all your life. After all, you know what a rhetorical question is, dont you?

In Words Like Loaded Pistols, Sam Leith traces the art of argument from ancient Greece through the present day. He introduces verbal villains from Hitler to Donald Trumpand the three musketeers: ethos, pathos, and logos. He explains how rhetoric works in speeches from Cicero to Zelensky and pays tribute to the rhetorical brilliance of AC/DCs Back in Black. Before you know it, youll be confident in chiasmus and proud of your panegyricsbecause rhetoric is useful, relevant, and crucial to understanding the world around us.