Books about Debating from Amazon.com

Thank You for Arguing is your master class in the art of persuasion, taught by professors ranging from Bart Simpson to Winston Churchill. The time-tested secrets the book discloses include Cicero’s three-step strategy for moving an audience to actionÑas well as Honest Abe’s Shameless Trick of lowering an audience’s expectations by pretending to be unpolished. But it’s also replete with contemporary techniques such as politicians’ use of “code” language to appeal to specific groups and an eye-opening assortment of popular-culture dodges, including:

The Eddie Haskell Ploy
Eminem’s Rules of Decorum
The Belushi Paradigm
Stalin’s Timing Secret
The Yoda Technique

Whether you’re an inveterate lover of language books or just want to win a lot more anger-free arguments on the page, at the podium, or over a beer, Thank You for Arguing is for you. Written by one of today’s most popular online language mavens, it’s warm, witty, erudite, and truly enlightening. It not only teaches you how to recognize a paralipsis and a chiasmus when you hear them, but also how to wield such handy and persuasive weapons the next time you really, really want to get your own way..
Price: $7.94 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Jerry Weissman has made a career of coaching nearly 500 execs on their IPO roadshows, the most critical presentations of their lives. Now, he's written an indispensable guide to answering the toughest questions you'll ever face. Using compelling examples from Presidential debates to stock analyst meetings, Weissman teaches how to respond with perfect assurance. Discover how to avoid the defensive, evasive, or contentious answers that have destroyed political careers and ruin credibility. Learn to control your entire exchange with a hostile questioner: the question, answer, interactions with questioner and audience, timing, and above all, yourself. Whether an executive, politician, fundraiser, interviewee, teacher, student -- or even a family member at Thanksgiving dinner -- you're judged on how you handle these moments. Get this book: handle them brilliantly..
Price: $13.53 [Notify me when price goes down.]

More perspectives on argument than any other concise writing guide.  Best-selling argument author Nancy V. Wood offers a concise presentation of how to write persuasively     

This efficient text provides instruction in reading, critical thinking, and writing about argumentative issues in a clear, student-friendly manner. Students will learn to identify topics of personal and social consequence, to read and form reactions and opinions of their own, to analyze a potential audience, and to write argument papers that express their individual view and perspective. Essentials of Argument, 2e, contains ten chapters, each accompanied by class exercises and writing assignments. Research methods are introduced early; students learn to locate, print, and evaluate online materials and avoid plagiarism. Appendices teach MLA and APA styles, summarize major ideas about argument, and provide a list of 100 potential topics for argument papers.

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Price: $45.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

No other book about the civil rights movement captures the drama and impact of the black struggle for equality better than Debating the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1968. Two of the most respected scholars of African-American history, Steven F. Lawson and Charles Payne, examine the individuals who made the movement a success, both at the highest level of government and in the grassroots trenches. Designed specifically for college and university courses in American history, this is the best introduction available to the glory and agony of these turbulent times..
Price: $8.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Presidential performance, the Electoral College, and the balance of power between Congress and the president are discussed in every presidency text. But now you can expose your students to alternate points of view on these critical topics, incisively argued by today's leading presidential scholars. Moving far beyond a broad synthesis of the literature, this provocative reader will actively engage your students with conflicting perspectives, inspiring spirited debate beyond the pages of the book.

Each pro and con essay--written in the form of a debate resolution--offers a compelling yet concise view on the most pivotal issues facing the modern presidency: whether the framers of the Constitution would approve of the modern presidency, the media scrutinize the president too much, or the president is a better representative of the people than Congress. Ellis and Nelson introduce each pair of pro/con essays, giving students context and preparing them to read each argument critically, so they can decide for themselves which side of the debate they find most persuasive.

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Price: $31.45 [Notify me when price goes down.]

THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS LINGUIST OFFERS A COMPLETELY ORIGINAL ANALYSIS OF THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE--AND A REVOLUTIONARY LANGUAGE TO LIVE BY!

In her #1 bestseller You Just Don't Understand, Deborah Tannen showed why talking to someone of the opposite sex can be like talking to someone from another world. Now Tannen is back with another groundbreaking book, this time widening her lens to examine the way we communicate in public--in the media, in politics, in our courtrooms, and classrooms--once again letting us see in a new way forces that have powerfully shaped our lives.

The war on drugs, the battle of the sexes, political turf combat--in the argument culture, war metaphors pervade our talk and influence our thinking. We approach anything we need to accomplish as a fight between two opposing sides. In this fascinating book, Tannen shows how deeply entrenched this cultural tendency is, the forms it takes, and how it affects us every day--sometimes in useful ways, but often causing damage.

The Argument Culture is a remarkable book that will change forever the way you perceive--and communicate with--the world. .
Price: $7.44 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A collection of thought-provoking essays about the work of the late Colonel John Boyd, a fighter pilot who was one of the most influential figures in American military strategy in the last third of the Twentieth Century. This book had its origins in an online roundtable hosted at Chicago Boyz, a popular libertarian and conservative group blog founded by Jonathan Glewirtz. The roundtable attracted the participation of an impressive group of reviewers from the blogosphere and from scientific, academic and military fields. Authors whose essays are included in this book include Daniel H. Abbott, Shane Deichman, Adam Elkus, "Lexington Green," Frank Hoffman, Dr. Frans Osinga, Dr. Chet Richards, Thomas Wade, and Dr. Frans Osinga, author of the leading scholarly work on Boyd.

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in John Boyd and will provide important insights for anyone who is interested in military strategy and current affairs.

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Price: $24.29 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The bible for debaters and their coaches

Nearly every high school and college in America has a debate club and/or a debate team. There are hundreds of competitions at the county and state level, culminating in heated national competitions. Yet, at many high schools and colleges, coaches are drawn from the history or English departments with little or no experience in the highly structured procedures of this popular discipline. And while competitive debate has been growing each year as a prime academic activity, there have been no popular handbooks to help students and coaches prepare for contests effectively and efficiently. Practical and authoritative, this guide includes not only tips and guidelines for effective preparation and delivery, but full-length, actual transcripts of successful competitions in each format. Endorsed by the two national governing bodies for competitive debate—the National Federation of State High School Associations and the National Forensic League—and priced for the budget-conscious student and high school teacher alike, Competitive Debate: The Official Guide is set to become the instructional “bible” for tens of thousands of present and future debaters and their coaches. Inside, Dr. Richard Edwards—award winning debate coach, professor, former competitive debate judge, and author—leads readers through the three popular formats of competitive debate:

• Policy Debate
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate
• Public Forum Debate
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Price: $8.88 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Advocacy and Opposition: An Introduction toArgumentation presents a comprehensive and practical approach to argumentation and critical thinking for the beginner who needs to construct and present arguments on questions of fact, value, and policy. Advocacy and Opposition offers a theoretical view of the nature of argument in our society, a discussion of arguing as a form of communication, and a focus on how arguments are created using the Toulmin model of argument. By blending traditional and contemporary views on the nature of argument (including multicultural perspectives on the purpose and process of argument, ethics, and values), Advocacy and Opposition makes students more aware of both the development of theory and practice, providing a well-rounded approach to their study of argumentation..
Price: $71.10 [Notify me when price goes down.]