The anniversary edition marks thirty years of offering an indispensable
review and analysis of thinkers who have exerted a profound influence on
contemporary rhetorical theory: I. A. Richards, Ernesto Grassi, Chaïm
Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca, Stephen Toulmin, Richard Weaver,
Kenneth Burke, Jürgen Habermas, bell hooks, Jean Baudrillard, and Michel
Foucault. The brief biographical sketches locate the theorists in time
and place, showing how life experiences influenced perspectives on
rhetorical thought. The concise explanations of complex concepts are
clear, engaging, insightful, and highly accessible, serving as an
excellent primer for reading the major works of these scholars. The
critical commentary is carefully chosen to highlight implications and to
place the theories within a broader rhetorical context. Each chapter
ends with a complete bibliography of works by the theorists.