This book has some good ideas. It gives readers a historical overview of rhetorical theory, and looks at some of the great speeches of our times and the rhetoric that has been used.

However, some of the ‘jokes’ or random bits of opinion author Sam Leith puts in are completely absurd, and, although it was rather funny at a first glance because it was unexpected, it made me wonder if this was some kind of ‘inside joke’.

For instance, on page 22 when the author talks about the power of words, he goes on with this example:

“Robert Mugabe and Kim Jong-il are not physically stronger than the people over whom they hold sway — Mugabe's a doddery old thing, and even I wouldn't have much trouble sticking the stack-heeled North Korean despot over my knee and giving him a good spanking”.

This book was published in 2012, and it made me wonder why the author chose to use the words he did.

Another example (page 66) is when he wrotes about UK Labour MP Michael Meacher suing a journalist who exposed his dishonesty about being brought up in a poor family when “Meacher's horny-handed father had actually trained as an accountant”.

Wit and humour is good, but the ones in this book were ridiculous. There are other examples of these totally random quotes, but these ones take the number one spot. This may work for some people, but for me, it put me off, and it detracts from any kind of argument.