Renato Barilli brings to his work a full command of the Western humanistic tradition and a philosopher’s drive toward speculation. Both capacities are reflected in this book, a concise history of rhetoric from its origins in ancient Greece down to the media technologies of the late twentieth century. Since rhetoric has always impinged upon other domains, its history must be seen within the larger history of Western culture, its changing status understood in relation to the reigning discourses in any given epoch.

Barilli’s Rhetoric will serve as an introduction to the subject for students and as a standard reference for readers interested in literature, languages, media, politics and philosophy.