[.ca] The Debater's Guide, 3rd Edition (ISBN 0809325381)

Handbook of debate in 1987, still conceptually applicable:
Burden of rejoinder! Plan meet need! Fiat? Fiat who? Hey, stop talking so fast! And what's this "kritik" thing? Okay, let's face it, it's old. It's from the days before politics disads, and when "cards" really were 3x5 index cards. Obviously a poor resource for intruducing anyone to the contemporary debate forum. If you're a novice who wants to learn to win rounds, this is not the place to look. Reading this my first year of debate just made me more confused than when I started. Debate has changed a lot since this book came out. The theory, style, and lingo are all so different today that this book is practically useless as a learning tool. On the other hand, for long-time debaters who want to codify their style to be more powerful, intuitive, and organized, this may prove quite helpful. The methods of evaluating and presenting arguments that this book investigates are really quite good, and the section on cross-examination is second to none. I've judged too many high school rounds where debaters waste time, let their opponents weasel out of certain death in cross-ex, or simply don't see the obvious fallacious connection between disad links they havn't seen before. If nothing else, this book could boost your speaker points a few notches here and there. I only gave it three stars because it no longer lives up to its title, but I didn't give it less because every time I skim it it's enlightening.

Emerson College Professor says this one is worth it !:
"ONE STOP SHOPPING" I highly recommend this book for professors teaching undergraduate Critical Thinking and Debate Courses. For days, I searched for a book that my students (could afford $)would ENJOY reading. In addition to Freeley's book this is the one I adopted for my class at Emerson College. It CLEARLY (using pleasant layout & copy) explains * The Debate Process * Building The Debate Case * Elements of Debate * Research * Constructing Affirmative and Negative Cases * Refutations * Cross Examination Speakers Duties, Delivery Style, etc. THIS 143 PAGE PAPERBACK CAN GO ANYWHERE...

Emerson College Professor says this one is worth it !:
"ONE STOP SHOPPING" I highly recommend this book for professors teaching undergraduate Critical Thinking and Debate Courses. For days, I searched for a book that my students (could afford $)would ENJOY reading. In addition to Freeley's book this is the one I adopted for my class at Emerson College. It CLEARLY (using pleasant layout & copy) explains * The Debate Process * Building The Debate Case * Elements of Debate * Research * Constructing Affirmative and Negative Cases * Refutations * Cross Examination Speakers Duties, Delivery Style, etc. THIS 143 PAGE PAPERBACK CAN GO ANYWHERE...