When Kenneth Burke conceived his celebrated “Motivorum” project in the 1940s and 1950s, he envisioned it in three parts. Whereas the third part,
A Symbolic of Motives
, was never finished,
A Grammar of Motives
(1945) and
A Rhetoric of Motives
(1950) have become canonical theoretical documents.
was originally intended to be a two-part book. Here, at last, is the second volume
,
the until-now unpublished
War of Words
, where Burke brilliantly exposes the rhetorical devices that sponsor war in the name of peace. Discouraging militarism during the Cold War even as it catalogues belligerent persuasive strategies and tactics that remain in use today,
The War of Words
reveals how popular news media outlets can, wittingly or not, foment international tensions and armaments during tumultuous political periods. This authoritative edition includes an introduction from the editors explaining the compositional history and cultural contexts of both
and
A Rhetoric of Motives. The War of Words
illuminates the study of modern rhetoric even as it deepens our understanding of post–World War II politics
.