In today's increasingly polarized political landscape it seems that fewer and fewer citizens hold out hope of persuading one another. Even among those who have not given up on persuasion, few will admit to practicing the art of persuasion known as ‘rhetoric’, which carries the connotations of being superficial, ingratiating, or manipulative. Professor Bryan Garsten (Yale) provocatively argues that the artful practice of persuasion ought to be viewed as a crucial part of democratic politics, and shows that the aspects of rhetoric which seem most dangerous—the appeals to emotion, religious values, and the concrete commitments of particular communities—are also those which can draw out citizens' capacity for good judgment.