Even in our digital age, speeches remain the principal currency of public life. There is no better way to argue a case or sway an audience.

In Men and Women of Australia!, speechmaker and former prime ministerial adviser Michael Fullilove has gathered the finest Australian speeches delivered since Federation – speeches that have inspired us and defined us as a nation. Each one is a time capsule, a window onto a debate or controversy from our history.

Fully revised and updated, with perceptive introductions to each speech and a foreword by Graham Freudenberg, this edition includes Kevin Rudd's Apology to the Stolen Generations and Julia Gillard's Misogyny speech – two speeches that captured the country's imagination. Among others are Noel Pearson's Hope Vale speech, Les Carlyon on Fromelles, Geoffrey Rush on acting the goat, Tim Winton on our oceans, Tony Abbott's speech on closing the gap, and Malcolm Turnbull's tribute to Robert Hughes. Also included are speeches by notable visitors to Australia – leading figures of the twentieth century such as Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Drawn from politics, history, sport and culture, Men and Women of Australia! is the definitive collection of Australian speeches.