Undelivered: The Never-Heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History

by Jeff Nussbaum Narrated by Adam Gifford, Brian Bowles, Elisa Roth, Garrick Hagon, Glen McCready, Greg Lockett, James Lailey, Jeff Nussbaum, Johnny Heller, Kathleen Chalfant, Kurt Kanazawa, Lance Blair

Overview

"There may be no more important listen regarding the fate of the nation's democracy than this historical record."- AudioFile

This program is read by the author and full cast, includes actual audio clips from historical and political figures, and has actors narrating the entire undelivered speeches throughout.

A fascinating insight into notable speeches that were never delivered, showing what could have been if history had gone down a different path

For almost every delivered speech, there exists an undelivered opposite. These "second speeches" provide alternative histories of what could have been if not for schedule changes, changes of heart, or momentous turns of events.

In Undelivered, political speechwriter Jeff Nussbaum presents the most notable speeches the public never heard, from Dwight Eisenhower's apology for a D-Day failure to Richard Nixon's refusal to resign the presidency, and even Hillary Clinton's acceptance for a 2016 victory-the latter never seen until now.

Examining the content of these speeches and the context of the historic moments that almost came to be, Nussbaum considers not only what they tell us about the past but also what they can inform us about our present.

Editorial Reviews

FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile

Those who expect this audiobook to feature transcripts or dramatic readings of never-delivered speeches from historical figures such as JFK and Dwight Eisenhower will be surprised, but not disappointed, to find that author-narrator Jeff Nussbaum himself is the real star of this audiobook. A veteran Washington speechwriter himself, Nussbaum shares the context behind never-delivered orations prepared for a nuclear strike on Cuba, the failure of the D-Day landings, and others--some of which he unearthed through his own detective work. His narration is a master class on how political speeches are crafted, and he's such a compelling guide that listeners will find the speeches themselves--excerpts from which are narrated by voice actors in the appendix--are something of a letdown compared with Nussbaum's reflections. D.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

03/07/2022

Veteran speechwriter Nussbaum (coauthor, Intelligence Matters) examines in this intriguing account prepared speeches that, due to unforeseen circumstances, a change of mind, or outside pressure, were never delivered. Drawing on his experiences as a speechwriter for Al Gore, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, Nussbaum analyzes such unheard addresses as John Lewis’s fiery draft remarks for the 1963 March on Washington, in which he planned to call on civil rights activists to “march through the South... the way Sherman did” and “burn Jim Crow to the ground.” Elsewhere, Nussbaum documents Richard Nixon’s waffling over whether to resign or make the case that “the evidence against him wasn’t as damning as it appeared”; analyzes whether an “apology” speech Japanese emperor Hirohito considered giving in the aftermath of WWII might have “raised the question of war responsibility and perhaps required to abdicate”; and notes that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower was prepared to accept full responsibility if the Normandy invasion failed. Throughout, Nussbaum weaves in enlightening behind-the-scenes details about the process of speechwriting and makes a strong case for the power of speeches “to educate, inform, inspire, incite, and move people to action.” The result is a fascinating look at what might have been. (May)

From the Publisher

Praise for Undelivered by Jeff Nussbaum

"Ingenious." —The Wall Street Journal

“In Nussbaum’s able hands, this cruise through what-might-have-been offers a hell of a fun ride.” —Douglas Brinkley, The Washington Post

“Offering a compelling peek behind the curtain of the speechwriting process, Undelivered provides a real life look into histories that never were. Fascinating and immensely insightful.” —Jake Tapper, CNN anchor

“History’s ‘might-have-beens’ are often the subject of fiction or speculation. But in some cases, the tides of history came so close to turning that an alternate future wasn’t just imagined, it was drafted. Nussbaum has brought many of these chapters in our history, and the words that would have accompanied them, vividly to life.” —Nathaniel Philbrick, bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea

“With the storytelling skill of a speechwriter and the investigative skills of a historian, Nussbaum has assembled a collection that illuminates critical moments in history, and provides a tantalizing look at what might have been.” —George Stephanopoulos, ABC News anchor

“Nussbaum brings us a fascinating, harrowing, and sometimes heartbreaking look at history’s alternate possibilities. Undelivered is a gripping read that offers a window into the words and events that might have been.” —Kerry Washington

FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile

Those who expect this audiobook to feature transcripts or dramatic readings of never-delivered speeches from historical figures such as JFK and Dwight Eisenhower will be surprised, but not disappointed, to find that author-narrator Jeff Nussbaum himself is the real star of this audiobook. A veteran Washington speechwriter himself, Nussbaum shares the context behind never-delivered orations prepared for a nuclear strike on Cuba, the failure of the D-Day landings, and others--some of which he unearthed through his own detective work. His narration is a master class on how political speeches are crafted, and he's such a compelling guide that listeners will find the speeches themselves--excerpts from which are narrated by voice actors in the appendix--are something of a letdown compared with Nussbaum's reflections. D.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2022-03-08
Imagining the world as it might have been.

Veteran speechwriter Nussbaum highlights the contingencies of history by examining crucial speeches that, because of a change of events or a speaker’s change of mind, never were given. “Each of these speeches,” he writes, “provides a window into the fraught moments in which it was penned.” Besides offering key excerpts, and in some cases the entire speech, the author provides historical and biographical context, close readings for language and style, and speculations about how the speech might have altered the course of subsequent events. Among the undelivered speeches he identifies are John Lewis’ proposed remarks at the March on Washington, D.C., in 1963; Native American leader Wamsutta Frank James’ speech at the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrim landing at Plymouth Rock; Helen Keller’s brief remarks at a suffrage parade in 1913, undelivered because of mob rioting; “the speech President Nixon was prepared to make refusing to resign in 1974”; Edward VIII’s equivocation about abdicating in 1939; Dwight Eisenhower’s apology in case of the failure of D-Day; Emperor Hirohito’s “shame-ridden apology for his role in starting World War II”; Condoleezza Rice’s foreign policy speech, planned for Sept. 11, 2001; and Hillary Clinton’s victory speech in 2016. Some of these texts, unearthed by Nussbaum, currently Joe Biden’s senior speechwriter, had been filed away for decades. Edward’s words, for example were rediscovered after nearly 70 years in documents released by the British Public Record Office in 2003. His plan—quashed by his ministers—“was to say that he wished to marry Mrs. Simpson, but neither of them would insist that she be queen. He would then go away to a foreign country while people made up their minds. If he were called back, he would resume his reign with Mrs. Simpson as his consort. If he weren’t, he would abdicate.” Nussbaum speculates that if Edward—sympathetic to Germany—had continued as king, the course of the war would have been dramatically different.

A fresh perspective on history.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177345512
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	05/10/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,007,918

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