Since the beginning of time, great leaders have used their power of oratory to win and inspire followers. Included here are the speeches of Moses, Jesus, George Washington, Queen Elizabeth I, Oliver Cromwell, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon Bonaparte, Mahatma Gandhi, Clarence Darrow, Emmeline Pankhurst, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, George S. Patton, Stalin, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, and many others who have motivated, given hope to and sometimes terrified those who heard them.

This book contains over 50 momentous and thought-provoking speeches from a wide range of historical eras and nations, and will both inspire readers and give them a greater understanding of the events of the time.

Each speech is accompanied by a comprehensive introduction that explains its historical background, why it was significant and what happened as a result. A biography of each speechmaker explains how they came to stand at the crossroads of history.

The enclosed audio CD contains 20 authentic historical recordings of: Neville Camberlain, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jawaharlal Nehru, General Douglas MacArthur, Nelson Mandela, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Richard M. Nixon, Chaim Herzog, Mother Teresa, Ronald Reagan, F. W. de Klerk and George W. Bush.

Simon Sebag Montefiore is a historian and writer. His book Catherine the Great and Potemkin was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson, Duff Cooper and Marsh Biography Prizes. His Stalin: the Court of the Red Tsar won the History Book of the Year Prize at the British Book Awards and his new book, Young Stalin, is its prequel and companion volume. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, his bestselling books are published in 27 languages. He is the author of the forthcoming 101 World Heros: Great Men and Women for an Unheroic Age.