Undelivered: the never-heard speeches that would have rewritten history

Part 1: words that are too hot

John Lewis on the march on Washington, August 1963: ensuring that multiple speeches fit the moment

Wamsutta Frank James on the 350th anniversary of the pilgrims landing at Plymouth rock, September 1970: the five elements found in every persuasive speech

Part 2: a change of mind, a change of heart

Emma Goldman at her sentencing, October 1893, and Helen Keller at the suffrage parade, March 1913: the power of speech to move people to action

President Richard Nixon's refusal to resign, August 1974: the precarious position of the speechwriter

Mayor Kevin White on school busing, December 1974: the rhetorical technique of litany

Part 3: crisis/crisis averted

Edward VIII's refusal to abdicate the throne December 1936: writing for public figures about their private lives

New York City mayor Abe Beame declares bankruptcy, October 1975: the risks and rewards of Sherman statements

Part 4: the fog of war, the path to peace

Dwight Eisenhower's apology for the failure of the D-day invasion, June 1944: the language of leadership

Emperor Hirohito apologizes for world war II, 1948: dog whistles, chameleons, and apologies

President Kennedy on the military operation that destroyed the nuclear weapons buildup in Cuba, October 1962: the mysteries of speech authorship

Part 5: the people choose

Illinois governor John Peter Altgeld's farewell address following his defeat in the 1896 election, January 1897: The value of a soundbite

Hillary Clinton's 2016 victory speech, why we venerate the ritual of concession

Part 6: events intervene

The remarks Condoleezza Rice had intended to give on the Bush administration's foreign policy, September 11, 2001: The process of constructing a speech

Barry Jenkins's best picture remarks for Moonlight, February 2017: the power of story

Last words: Pope Pius XI, JFK, FDR, Einstein and their unfinished prophecies of peace, various years.