Rating: 
Summary: A READER from St. Cloud Mn. was wrong...
Review: A READER from St. Cloud MN. was wrong in their review of Ms. Noonan's work. She did use political references, but only as examples and never in a mean way. She provided pro and cons of various speeches given by both Democrates and Republicans. I found her to be straight forward and helpful. I would recommend this audio program to anyone regardless of their political leanings. Heck, she even gave Carvill high praise.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the Beef?
Review: As a graduate student eager to gain some insights from a veteran writer and public speaker, I was consistently disappointed with Noonan's work. If you're looking for nuts and bolts, you'd best search elsewhere. This is a shallow work that fails to deliver on the promise of its title. You're occasionally entertained, but the content is eminently forgettable. The book reminds me of college classes I've taken where you're mildly engaged, but where you're given nothing truly valuable to take away from the course. You're hoping for pearls of wisdom somewhere along the line, but you're consistently disappointed. Noonan comes off as a lightweight without substance, and reminds you too often of the relative you dread listening to because they venture off in all sorts of directions. There are MUCH better texts out there to help you.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Anecdotes-There are Better Public Speaking Books
Review: Being a minor political junkie, I enjoyed this book more than my 2 star rating might indicate. Ms. Noonan has been writing speeches for (mostly conservative) politicians for many years, and has a wealth of fun stories to tell about that experience.However, that's not why I bought the book - I purchased it to try to improve my public speaking skills, as the book's title implies would be its purpose. On that note, it doesn't come close to other books on the same topic. If you want to read some of the interesting political anecdotes, this may be worth a look. If you're looking for a good book on public speaking, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Strong on craft, maddeningly biased
Review: Few people are gifted with the journalistic and speaking abilities of Peggy Noonan. Ms. Noonan is known not only for her brilliant (and sometimes ascerbic) political books, but also for the eloquent speeches she wrote for presidents Reagan and Bush. But, no matter where you sit on the political spectrum, this book is sure to enhance your speaking abilities. It is loaded with practical tips as well as great personal stories and interesting tidbits about politicians and speechwriters, all written in Peggy's inimitable style. This effort is a good read and the tips can be easily assimilated into any speaking style.
Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT TIPS FROM OUR MOST BRILLIANT SPEECHWRITER!
Review: Few people are gifted with the journalistic and speaking abilities of Peggy Noonan. Ms. Noonan is known not only for her brilliant (and sometimes ascerbic) political books, but also for the eloquent speeches she wrote for presidents Reagan and Bush. But, no matter where you sit on the political spectrum, this book is sure to enhance your speaking abilities. It is loaded with practical tips as well as great personal stories and interesting tidbits about politicians and speechwriters, all written in Peggy's inimitable style. This effort is a good read and the tips can be easily assimilated into any speaking style.
Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Falls Church is right on -- skip this book
Review: I completely agree with Falls Church's comments about this book. Noonan harps on the need for simplicity, yet fails to drive home her points. She is constantly meandering, even though her chapters are short. There are good tips, but no lessons. It's no wonder there isn't any table of contents. Although her anecdotes can be encouraging for those speaking in public, overall this is a dissappointing experience.
Rating:
Summary: I actually tried to rely on this book for a presentation...
Review: I couldn't beleive how bad this book is. Not really a presentation on how to speak well, but full of recollections of her career-long speaking days. There was nothing useful in this book, except if you want to hear her reflections on talking her grades up with the professors in college back in the '60's. A complete waste of time and money.
Rating:
Summary: Basic ideas but well presented
Review: I didn't find too many ideas in these audio tapes that I hadn't found in other books on speeches. What sets Ms. Noonan's audiobook apart is that it is easier and much more interesting to listen to. If you are selecting your first audiobook on the fundamentals of delivering or writing a speech, this is the one to get.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and Practical
Review: I listened to the audio tape to this book...even better and easier than reading the book. I found Peggy Noonan's style both easy to understand and clear...she is living proof on how speeches should be delivered.Her voice and manner are calm, confident and inspirational. The message is strong and one part that certainly sticks in my mind was "tell your audience what you're going to tell them...tell them and then tell them what you told them" I highly recommend this book to anyone who is in a position where they have to give speeches frequently or in a one off situation.
Rating:
Summary: Strong on craft, maddeningly biased
Review: I loved reading 90% of this book, both for inside political stories and for real world experience in the business of making speeches meaningful and memorable. I was so impressed I was planning to give it to a niece planning a career in politics. However, by the end, the biases that she's not even aware of had me wanting to throw the book at the wall. Whilst there is no rule that everyone has to agree with everyone else's politics, writing to an audience you assume shares your views is alienating and undermines the otherwise very interesting content. Such things as the natural assumption that the reader will be female, preparing speeches for your boss, naturally male, or the reproduction of a personal tribute speech which is cringingly ivy league makes one wonder how good a communicator she really is. What disappoints most is that in a book about communication, with references to the importance of good editing, superb insights into writing and speaking are spoiled by the authors political blind spots. Oh for just a tiny bit more editing.
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