All We Say cover art

All We Say

A History of the United States in Fifteen Speeches
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All We Say

By: Ben Rhodes
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

All We Say is the story of the United States through fifteen speeches – some iconic, others long forgotten, all pivotal – from its founding to the intense divisions of our times, from one of President Obama's former speechwriters.
For 250 years, America has debated what it means to be American. The question shaped the compromises in the Constitution and the arguments they’ve had ever since, spawning abolitionism, secession and civil war; populism, mass migration and global leadership; movements for reform and the backlashes to them.
Through riveting accounts of the people, movements and moments that produced these speeches, Rhodes traces the history of America's battle over identity. The result is a singular and revealing portrait of the United States: a nation divided between two stories – one of inheritance, power, and exclusion, the other of equality, striving, and belonging.
Drawing on a decade writing for Barack Obama, Rhodes also reveals how words can redirect a nation, what makes a speech enduring, and why oratory is a unique form of persuasion in a democracy.
These speeches remind us that history is a living argument. At a time when American identity – and truth – is contested, All We Say offers a fresh and powerful look at who America really is, and who it could still become.

'Wonderful – fascinating, thought-provoking and full of insights. Essential reading' - Justin Webb

‘Ben Rhodes reminds us what American greatness actually sounds like, and what it means’ – Ayad Akhtar


© Ben Rhodes 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Americas Political Science Politics & Government United States

Critic reviews

A wonderful book – fascinating, thought-provoking and full of insights. Essential reading (Justin Webb, journalist and broadcaster)
Ben Rhodes is a true wordsmith, both consummate and passionate. All We Say is a marvellous, highly readable reminder of how words – both written and spoken – can make history and determine a nation’s identity (Sir Peter Westmacott, author of They Call It Diplomacy)
All We Say is a brilliant conceit — explore the longstanding debate over American identity through a close examination of fifteen exceptional speeches and the people who delivered them — and Ben Rhodes carries it off beautifully in this generous, trenchant, urgently needed book (Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Embers of War)
An absorbing primer of the argument we can’t escape, the history of a question our nation is still trying to answer, All We Say is — like its author — brilliant, generous, and wise. At a time of moral and political drift, Ben Rhodes reminds us what American greatness actually sounds like, and what it means (Ayad Akhtar, author of Homeland Elegies)
Throughout American history, we have used words to try to discern what it means to live righteously in this land. How fortunate we are then to have this assembly of speeches and this uncommonly wise understanding of our past. All We Say is a book that asks us to remember that oration is always a form of moral suasion, and here Rhodes – an authority on speechwriting and having courage – demands that we not become petrified by the immensity of what is at stake in this country (Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, Pulitzer Prize-winning essayist)

PRAISE FOR THE WORLD AS IT IS

One of the most compelling stories I've seen about what it's actually like to serve the American people

(President Barack Obama)
A stylish, beautifully written political memoir (Colum McCann)
A classic coming-of-age story ... His achievement is rare for a political memoir: he has written a humane and honourable book
A beautifully observed, essential record of what it was like to be there (Samantha Power)
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