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Alistair Cooke

    November 20, 1908 – March 30, 2004

    Alistair Cooke was a renowned British American journalist and host of television and radio programs. His work was characterized by keen observation and influential reporting, often offering American audiences insights into British life and vice versa. His distinctive style and ability to connect with listeners made him one of the most respected voices of his era. Through his long-running 'Letter from America' broadcasts for the BBC, he shaped public discourse and fostered cross-cultural understanding.

    Letter from America
    Above London
    Above Washington
    Six Men
    The Americans. Letters From America on our Life and Times, 1969-1979
    Letter from America
    • 2008

      Reporting America

      The Life of the Nation, 1946-2004

      • 400 pages
      • 14 hours of reading

      Reporting America is a magnificent collection of Alistair Cooke's key dispatches on the key moments, movements, men and women of post-war America. Alistair Cooke was the greatest, and most humane, of all modern reporters and interpreters of America, his adopted country, to his native Britain and to the world. Starting with his first broadcast 'Letter from America' on embarking in 1946 for America on a ship filled with tearful GI brides, here are the stories of a Korea, the McCarthy witch hunts, Civil Rights, JFK, the moon landings, the moving eye-witness account of Robert Kennedy's assassination, Nixon's resignation and Clinton's scandals, right up to the attacks of September 11th and the war in Iraq. Also containing Cook's observations on the great, good and downright bad, and on the views of the ordinary people he met, as well as his daughter Susan's memories of her father, Reporting America is a tribute to an extraordinary man and the country he loved. 'The voice of America ... Here was a man who made intelligent, honest sense of decades of assassinations, scandals, elections, boom times and broken dreams ... an indispensable record of twentieth-century American culture' Peter Kimpton, Observer 'Vintage Cooke' David Dimbleby 'A rich picture of America, so vivid ... the fresh first pressing of history' James Naughtie, Sunday Telegraph Alistair Cooke (1908-2004) enjoyed an extraordinary life in print, radio and television. The Guardian's Senior Correspondent in New York for twenty-five years and the host of groundbreaking cultural programmes on American television and of the BBC series America, Cooke was, however, best known both at home and abroad for his weekly BBC broadcast Letter from America, which reported on fifty-eight years of US life, was heard over five continents and totalled 2,869 broadcasts before his retirement in February 2004, far and away the longest-running radio series in broadcasting history.

      Reporting America
    • 2007

      Letter from America

      • 510 pages
      • 18 hours of reading
      4.3(24)Add rating

      Alastair Cooke's Letter from America: 1946-2004 is a remarkable collection of his BBC Radio broadcasts, chronicling nearly sixty years of American life. This compilation interprets significant events, from the assassination of Kennedy to September 11 and the Iraq War, while anticipating the 2004 elections. Each broadcast offers a vivid portrait of the nation, featuring influential figures like Charlie Chaplin and Martin Luther King, alongside diverse topics such as civil rights, golf, and the beauty of New England's autumn. Cooke's unique insights and personal touch provide a captivating view of America, making him an unparalleled chronicler of his time. His work was not only influential in the UK but also resonated with audiences worldwide, explaining the complexities of a nation that was both familiar and foreign. With an impressive career as The Guardian's Senior Correspondent in New York and as the host of pioneering cultural programs, Cooke's legacy is defined by his weekly broadcasts, which spanned 2,869 episodes and became the longest-running radio series in history before his retirement in 2004. His blend of experience, wisdom, and education remains unmatched in journalism.

      Letter from America
    • 2006

      Alistair Cooke's American Journey

      Life on the Home Front in the Second World War

      • 490 pages
      • 18 hours of reading

      Alistair Cooke, recognized a great story to be told in investigating at first hand the effects of the Second World War on America. Within weeks of the Pearl Harbor attack, Cooke set off on a circuit of the entire country to see what the war had done to people. This unique travelogue celebrates an important American character and the indomitable spirit of a nation that was to inspire Cooke's reports and broadcasts for some sixty years.

      Alistair Cooke's American Journey
    • 2004

      The Right Nation

      Why America Is Different

      • 464 pages
      • 17 hours of reading

      A look at American conservatism by the current editor and Washington bureau chief of The Economist.

      The Right Nation
    • 2004

      Letter from America

      1946-2004

      • 552 pages
      • 20 hours of reading
      4.0(73)Add rating

      When Alistair Cooke retired in March 2004 and then died a few weeks later, he was acclaimed by many as one of the greatest broadcasters of all time. His Letters from America, which began in 1946 and continued uninterrupted every week until early 2004, kept the world in touch with what was happening in Cooke's wry, liberal and humane style. This selection, made largely by Cooke himself and supplemented by his literary executor, gives us the very best of these legendary broadcasts. It is a remarkable portrait of a continent - and a man.

      Letter from America
    • 1987

      Photographs taken from the air present striking views of the buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area

      Above Washington
    • 1981

      Masterpieces

      A Decade of Masterpiece Theatre

      • 246 pages
      • 9 hours of reading

      Alistair Cooke's essays about the history, personalities and literary works that shaped the programs that have appeared on Masterpiece Theatre.

      Masterpieces
    • 1980
    • 1980

      Provides a visual record of London through unique aerial photographs and accompanying text.

      Above London
    • 1979