Alistair Cooke: The Essential Letters from America: The 70s

Synopsis

This is a collection of some of Alistair Cooke's most memorable radio Letters from the 1970s. Alistair Cooke was a radio legend, entertaining millions of listeners for over fifty years in his weekly "Letter from America". It was the longest-running one-man series in radio history, and every show was a virtuoso performance. Wise and witty, informed yet informal, Cooke was the doyen of foreign correspondents. This selection of Letters includes Cooke's reports on momentous events such as Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal, the ceasefire in Vietnam and the assassination attempt on Gerald Ford. Here, too, are Cooke's thoughts on Jimmy Carter becoming president, the death of Harry S. Truman, the accident at Three Mile Island nuclear power station and the Apollo-Soyuz link-up in space. The Letters are set in their historical context with a specially commissioned script narrated by the BBC's award-winning American correspondent Matt Frei. Whether the topics he explores are serious or humorous, Cooke's unique style of expression and analysis shines through in these classic broadcasts from one of the world's most famous letter writers and radio's greatest observer. 'Cooke's debonaire, transatlantic tones are unmistakable...' - "FT Magazine".