Hands of State
Gestures of Performance, Power, PersuasionBy Byron Crowe
Length7h 29m
About this audiobook
From Pilate's basin to Mussolini's balcony to the yank of a Trump handshake, political power has always been transmitted through the hands. Hands of State is a global anatomy of the gestures that signal, perform, and engineer authority — the handshake, the salute, the royal wave, the lectern grip, the Merkel diamond, the pinched precision of an Obama speech, and the missing handshake that became more famous than any that occurred. Across thirty chapters, Byron Crowe examines how leaders, dictators, queens, and protesters have used their hands to command attention — and how the camera changed everything.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★★ 5.0 (1)
GenrePolitics and Government, Psychology
Length7 hrs 29 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMay 15, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
18The Macron Counter-Grip
2The Hand Is Never Just a Hand
19The Still Hand
3The Handshake That Wouldn’t Let Go
20The Fidget
4The Salute Machine
21The Fist
5The Balcony
22The Pointing Finger
Show all chaptersShow less
6The Royal Wave
23The Raised Hand
7Clean Hands, Dirty Hands
24AOC’s Emphasis Hands
8The First Tool
25The Handshake Refusal
9The Open Palm
26Berlusconi’s Touch
10The Blessing Hand
27The Camera Hand
11Caesar’s Hand
28The Tech Founder Hand
12The Hand That Signs
29The Lectern Grip
13The Campaign Handshake
30The Apology Hand
14The Thumb Point
31The No-Handshake Era
15Prayer Hands
32The AI Hand
16The Merkel Diamond
33What the Hand Gives Away
17Obama’s Precision
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