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The lead editor of this essay collection, Shawn F. Briscoe, believes that in addition to the expert studies available about debating, there should be a collection of viewpoints from people who have had the meaningful experience of joining a debate team. The contributors include directors of debate leagues along with students, teachers, a pilot, a pediatrician, and an attorney. Each describes in personal terms the role that debating has played in shaping character. There are several contrasting values expressed in academic debating. Though it is a team activity, it is highly competitive. Debating calls for an outgoing, organized approach, yet many who debate do so to overcome shyness and insecurity. Debate requires both agreement on certain basic rules and disagreement on the issue at hand. And while being on the debate team is a sociable activity, often allowing "geeky" kids to make friends for the first time, debaters must often work independently, researching debating topics. One of the most inspiring accounts in Why Debate comes from the son of a single mother who grew up in poverty and often kept silent about his circumstances, but "after living a life of silence, he found his voice" through debating, now heading a justice advocacy service.
Briscoe is Program Director for the St. Louis Urban Debate League and has written various articles and one textbook about debate. His passion for the subject is obvious; he has organized his material to include a balance of informative essays and deeply personal stories. He makes it clear that modern political debating, though sometimes in the headlines, is only one small aspect of the larger debate system. Why Debate is certain to be popular among those involved in this fascinating discipline that has helped so many people to find a voice.
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