Speeches Of Note

Hutchinson, 384pp, £25

Much-loved Letters Of Note blogger Shaun Usher returns with a series spin-off, this time focusing on speeches from throughout history that he deems deserving of wider reading.

There is one written for Richard Nixon “In Event Of Moon Disaster” that the President would have delivered had Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin not returned from the moon; one sees a lawyer (and later senator) George Graham Vest discuss the abiding loyalty of dogs; a professor of English, William Lyon Phelps, shares a goosebump-inducing ode to the wonders of books, while the words of Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Nick Cave, Kermit the Frog, Tilda Swinton, Meghan Markle, Harold Pinter and more also bubble up from the page.

Anguish, hope, grief, love – and seemingly all the other known kinds of human feeling – are quite brilliantly represented. It’s a lovely dip-in, dip-out collection that will leave you both emotional and inspired. ■