There are countless Debate courses, tutorials, articles available online, but for some, having a book is still a necessity to learn. This is an up-to-date list of recommended books.
- Competitive Debate: The Official Guide (2008)
- The Tools of Argument: How the Best Lawyers Think, Argue, and Win (2013)
- Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion, Updated Edition (2013)
- Speak Out! Debate and Public Speaking in the Middle Grades (2005)
- A Rulebook for Arguments (2018)
- How to Argue & Win Every Time: At Home, At Work, In Court, Everywhere, Everyday (1996)
- Issues for Debate in American Public Policy: Selections from CQ Researcher (2019)
- The Enduring Debate: Classic and Contemporary Readings in American Politics (Seventh Edition) (2013)
- Policy Debate: A Guide for High School and College Debaters (2016)
- The Great Debate: A Handbook for Policy Debate and Public Forum Debate (2013)
- The Fallacy Detective: Thirty-Eight Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning (2015)
- The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left (2014)
- Burden of Proof: An Introduction to Argumentation and Guide to Parliamentary Debate (2005)
Competitive Debate: The Official Guide (2008)
Nearly every high school and college in America has a debate club and/or a debate team. There are hundreds of competitions at the county and state level, culminating in heated national competitions. Yet, at many high schools and colleges, coaches are drawn from the history or English departments with little or no experience in the highly structured procedures of this popular discipline.
The Tools of Argument: How the Best Lawyers Think, Argue, and Win (2013)
Joel Trachtman’s book presents in plain and lucid terms the powerful tools of argument that have been honed through the ages in the discipline of law. If you are a law student or new lawyer, a business professional or a government official, this book will boost your analytical thinking, your foundational legal knowledge, and your confidence as you win arguments for your clients, your organizations or yourself. For more information, go to toolsofargument.com.
Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion, Updated Edition (2013)
Verbal Judo is the martial art of the mind and mouth that can show you how to be better prepared in every verbal encounter.
Speak Out! Debate and Public Speaking in the Middle Grades (2005)
“Combining the practical and theoretical, Speak Out! teaches students the basics of public speaking, argumentation, and research, and helps them prepare for debate competitions and classroom debates.
A Rulebook for Arguments (2018)
From academic writing to personal and public discourse, the need for good arguments and better ways of arguing is greater than ever before. This timely fifth edition of A Rulebook for Arguments sharpens an already-classic text, adding updated examples and a new chapter on public debates that provides rules for the etiquette and ethics of sound public dialogue as well as clear and sound thinking in general.
How to Argue & Win Every Time: At Home, At Work, In Court, Everywhere, Everyday (1996)
The Laws of Arguing According to Gerry Spence1. Everyone is capable of making the winning argument.2. Winning is getting what we want, which also means helping “others” get what they want.3. Learn that words are a weapon, and can be used hostilely in combat.4. Know that there is always a “biological advantage” of delivering the TRUTH.5. Assault is not argument.6. Use fear as an ally in pubic speaking or in argument. Learn to convert its energy.7.
Issues for Debate in American Public Policy: Selections from CQ Researcher (2019)
Written by award-winning CQ Researcher journalists, this annual collection of nonpartisan and thoroughly researched reports focuses on 16 hot-button policy issues. With reports ranging from racial profiling to prescription drug costs, the Twentieth Edition of Issues for Debate in American Public Policy promotes in-depth discussion, facilitates further research, and helps readers formulate their own positions on crucial policy issues.
The Enduring Debate: Classic and Contemporary Readings in American Politics (Seventh Edition) (2013)
A combination of classic and contemporary readings, featuring a debate-format section in each chapter. Every chapter includes a blend of readings―from scholarly and popular sources, long and short readings, and 30 percent new to this edition. About one-fourth of the readings are classics, while the remaining three-fourths are contemporary.
Policy Debate: A Guide for High School and College Debaters (2016)
In Policy Debate: A Guide for High School and College Debaters, Shawn F. Briscoe introduces educators, coaches, and students at the high school and college levels to the concepts at the foundation of policy debate, also known as cross-examination debate, and uses conceptual analysis and real-world examples to help students engage in competitive debates and deploy winning strategies.
The Great Debate: A Handbook for Policy Debate and Public Forum Debate (2013)
provides students a premier resource for learning the art of debate and developing the skills they need to succeed in the debate round, in the classroom, and in the real world. Written in a conversational style with the debate student in mind, this book begins by discussing general debate principles and then offers specific insights into the numerous facets of both public forum debate and policy debate.
The Fallacy Detective: Thirty-Eight Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning (2015)
“Can learning logic be fun? With The Fallacy Detective it appears that it can be.
The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left (2014)
In The Great Debate, Yuval Levin explores the roots of the left/right political divide in America by examining the views of the men who best represented each side at its origin: Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine.
Burden of Proof: An Introduction to Argumentation and Guide to Parliamentary Debate (2005)
Mark Crossman’s text introduces students to argumentation theories associated with testing arguments and reasoning, and encourages the use of these tests of arguments during debating. The text describes the theories and practices associated with NPDA style parliamentary debate, and provides an overview of the basics of ”parli” debate.
Best Debate Books Worth Your Attention
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some debate books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Meyer Schapiro's Critical Debates
Author(s): C. Oliver O'Donnell
ID: 2955457, Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press, Year: 272, Size: 27 Mb, Format: epub
View from the Right, Volume II: Systems and Debates
Author(s): Alain de Benoist
ID: 2404187, Publisher: Arktos Media, Year: 24 Aug 2018, Size: 1 Mb, Format: epub
What Is Academic Freedom? A Century Of Debate, 1915–Present
Author(s): Daniel Gordon
ID: 3323017, Publisher: Routledge, Year: 2023, Size: 3 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not absolute. Some books are really chart-busters according to USA Today, others are drafted by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.