Reddit reviews The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present

The Rhetorical Tradition

Standard Intro Textbook for my Master's Program in Rhet/Comp

We're reading it in my senior seminar (ENGL 418 Argumentation). It does a fantastic job of relating current issues such as abortion, gun control, social media (Sarah Palin tweets to Barack Obama in previous elections or speeches in congress), television, etc., to core principles of ancient rhetoric such as stasis theory, etc.

It's really great, because it is generally easy to read and really helps you create your own heuristics. Another good book, but more difficult and more over the history of rhetoric is rhetorical traditions. It's not necessarily hard to read, but is very information dense. http://www.amazon.com/The-Rhetorical-Tradition-Readings-Classical/dp/0312148399

If you're looking to dive fully into the ancient texts, Williams's An Introduction to Classical Rhetoric is a good text that situates contemporary arguments with original [translated] works.

Also, as mentioned earlier, readings from The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present can provide contextualization and framework for the classics in more of the original forms than what is conveyed in the long list earlier in this thread.

I read Language in Thought and Action a very long time ago, when I was doing my studies.

Instead of suggesting specific authors, I recommend "The Rhetorical Tradition" by Bizzell and Herzberg as a very solid overview of the themes/theories/big names in the history of Rhetoric. http://www.amazon.com/The-Rhetorical-Tradition-Readings-Classical/dp/0312148399/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331674353&sr=1-1

Rhetoric- I'd pick up a copy of The Rhetorical Tradition. It's kind a textbook, in a way, but mostly it's a huge collection of primary texts from the entire history of rhetoric with some decent editorial content that helps to tie everything together. Grammar? Start with everything Chomsky has written.