Six books about speeches that changed American politics

James Ledbetter is the author of Unwarranted Influence: Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Military-Industrial Complex.

For The Week magazine, he named six books about speeches that changed U.S. politics.

One title on the list:

King’s Dream by Eric J. Sundquist

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is probably the most celebrated American speech not given by an elected official. Sundquist’s masterful research ties King’s 1963 address to Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Frederick Douglass, and teases out the extensive connections between King’s ideas and the culture and politics of his time.

Read about the other books on Ledbetter's list.

The Page 99 Test: Eric Sundquist's King's Dream.

--Marshal Zeringue