Letter from America: 1946-2004

"A post mortem collection of the famous "Letter from America" series written and broadcast on the BBC over a staggering period of 58 years and 2,869 broadcasts. His last broadcast was made in Feb 2004, after which he retired. He died the following month in his 96th year.

It is simply staggering to consider the prolificacy and quality of these Letters which were faithfully produced against such an unforgiving deadline over so many years. All the more incredible it is to consider that this work constitutes just a fraction of the man's overall output,in many fields. I have the impression that this must have come relatively easy to him, otherwise it would have taken over his life. Fluent writing followed by fluent recording for broadcast. And the repetition honed his style. Indeed, I seem to recall an interview he gave in his latter years in which he said that as the years went by he would often arrive at recording studio with no written notes at all and only a vague idea as to what he was going to talk about that week. A virtuosos at work in any field inspires our awe and respect and Alistair Cooke is the virtuoso of the warm, enchanting essay which usually finds a new way, a new angle from which to consider things. I am now an even more serious fan and would recommend this collection to all who might enjoy the company of a thoughtful, wise and entertaining man for a brief while.

An unputdownable summary of the 20th Century (5/5 people found this helpful)

To be blunt: Alistair Cooke's writing is of the highest quality. It surpasses most fiction and non-fiction writings in these terms. The key characteristic of "Letters from America" is that they were meant to be read aloud and so adopt a more authoratative tone than most published writings. Cooke's America is fascinating; it shows what has been forgotten as well as documenting the present. Past luminaries such as HL Mencken, who is now largely forgotten, are described in detail under the assumption that their memory would live forever. The one criticism is that Cooke covers the news with too light a touch. At least in this collection, the civil rights movement, the attrocities of the Johnson and Nixon administrations in Vietnam and Cambodia are only briefly referred to. Apart from that his writing on summers in Long Island, the death of the Kennedies and Clintongate are an absolute pleasure.

A 'Love' Letter to America (15/15 people found this helpful)

When I left England to live in the United States for one year last August, there was only one book I took with me - Alistair Cooke's 'Letter From America'. What else could I have taken? Cooke saw into America like no other Brit (or no other non-American, for that matter).

Starting at the mid 1940s, the book winds its way through post-war America nearly right up until the authors death in 2004, picking out the best of his weekly broadcasts. The subject matters range from politics, history, current affairs, entertainment and topics from the New England fall, jazz, Robert Kennedy's assassination (which he witnessed first-hand) and O.J Simpson.

But it is not the subject matter that makes this book so special (for we already know about most of them anyway) it is none other than Cooke's insight and writing style. The articles flow like the finest novel or poem (which is probably attributed to Cooke's background in theatre). Each time you come back to read the book again it feels as though you are receiving the opinions of a familiar friend, and not some distant journalist.

There are drawbacks. Cooke was often criticised, and quite rightly so, for ignoring the darker side of the American dream. The other possible drawback, depending on your viewpoint, is that Cooke was a committed conservative, especially in the latter half of his career. Many of the final articles from the late 90's and early 00's lament the current position of America and (what he saw as) the sliding standards of journalism. Maybe, but you also can't help feel that he was by this point slightly out of touch.

These minor quibbles, however, cannot undermine Cooke's overall achievement of helping us better understand this important nation, which could be described as love letters to America.

Read this and you'll be wanting more.. (8/8 people found this helpful)

I have been listening to Alastair Cooke's broadcasts for many years, always finding something rewarding in them: a reference to an age before I was born, a different view point about an issue or something everyone else appeared to have missed. Cooke brought the ordinary into the major world events, showed the human side to many a major story and gave others the chance to see a perspective only obtainable through many years of hard work and intelligent inquiry. This book only contains a tiny number of the vast quantities of Letters from America but they are worthwhile letters; reading these samples of nearly sixty years of broadcasting provides a special insight into many issues, historical events and people largely forgotten or interpreted differently by a modern audience. Much of the most interesting content of the book is simply that of an old man explaining how the world changed in his lifetime: Cooke tells of the constants that he believed would last forever that new generations have never even heard of. It's worth reading for that warning alone. Regardless of the fading of the world Cooke knew his letters are both timeless reflections on people's nature and historically important records of a not so distant past. Some of the letters are included in the BBC audio CD collection but most are not so even if you have those recordings this book is still a worthwhile read. It's a different kind of America to that seen on the TV and movie theatre screens.

One for the bookshelves (6/8 people found this helpful)

This collection is the classic collection of his broadcasting - a must for any one interested in broadcasting and in American history

Letter from America: 1946-2004

Alistair Cooke

Reader Reviews:

Wonderful; Touching; Wise (4/4 people found this helpful)

An unputdownable summary of the 20th Century (5/5 people found this helpful)

A 'Love' Letter to America (15/15 people found this helpful)

Read this and you'll be wanting more.. (8/8 people found this helpful)

One for the bookshelves (6/8 people found this helpful)

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