Toasts

This is a facsimile edition of William Pittenger’s 1897 book Toasts and Forms of Public Address for Those Who Wish to Say the Right Thing in the Right Way. This edition also includes an all-new foreword which places the book and its author in context. Toasts is considered by many to be one of the most important books on public address in its day. It talks about speech writing and preparation as a unique discipline for swaying minds, rather than a simple way to fit in as many contemporary books discuss.

Pittenger had a remarkable life, rekindling his devotion to the Christian religion while held captive in a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp. Upon his release, he taught elocution in Philadelphia before moving to California to continue his ministry. This book contains many of his thoughts and suggestions on elocution as a science, and gives an interesting look at the thoughts and opinions of Pittenger himself--the man whose Civil War memoir inspired Buster Keaton’s The General.