Book description
'The idea was simple. Take the most impassioned speeches about the
fight for what is right and bring them to life for a new generation. The
reason why it's so powerful is because it's about everything that
matters to us: love and life, sex and death, justice and freedom. We've
found some amazing speeches from the most unlikely places, British
voices that have been ignored for centuries because history is a tale
often told by the winners' COLIN FIRTH The People Speak tells the story
of Britain through the voices of the visionaries, dissenters, rebels and
everyday folk who took on the Establishment and stood up for what they
believed in. Here are their stories, letters, speeches and songs, from
the Peasants Revolt to the Suffragettes to the anti-war demonstrators of
today. They are some of the most powerful words in our history. Compiled
by the Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth, influential writer Anthony
Arnove and the acclaimed historian David Horspool, The People Speak
reminds us that democracy has never been a spectator sport. An
extraordinary performance . . . a series of short, powerful, live pieces
intended to remind audiences of the enduring power of politicised speech
and . . . The end result is like a protest rally championing the act of
protest itself Colin Firth (CBE) is a Bafta and Academy Award-winning
actor. His films include The English Patient, Fever Pitch, Bridget
Jones's Diary, The Importance of Being Ernest, A Single Man and The
King's Speech. Anthony Arnove is the author of Iraq: The Logic of
Withdrawal, editor of Iraq Under Siege and The Essential Chomsky, and
coauthor, with Howard Zinn, of Voices of a People's History of the
United States and Terrorism and War. He is the codirector of The People
Speak with Chris Moore and Howard Zinn.
