Alistair Cooke: The Essential Letters from America: The 80s

Synopsis

This title contains Alistair Cooke's most momentous radio Letters from the 1980s. 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. In this collection of Letters, Cooke reports on the attempt to rescue the American hostages in Iran, President Reagan's inauguration, the Challenger space shuttle explosion and Black Monday. In addition, he talks about political speech writing,muses on the silly season, discusses the difference between the American and English use of language, celebrates the 100th birthday of Irving Berlin and considers the effects of the catastrophic San Francisco earthquake. 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".