Letter from America: 1946-2004

Letter from America by Alistair Cooke. When Alistair Cooke retired in March and then died a few weeks later, he was accla.
Table of contents

• Essentials
• Letter from America by Alistair Cooke
• May Books 33) Letter from America, - From the Heart of Europe
• Letter from America, 1946-2004
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For example, Emmanuel Goldenberg became Edward G. By the time I started understanding the content of the talks, Cooke was already sixty and had been doing it for over half his life.

Essentials

The primary way to appreciate Cooke's pieces is of course by listening to them, but there is no harm in having this selection in the form of dead trees. It is interesting that in his early pieces on race relations, he really didn't seem to get the nature of the problem; but he redeems himself partially with a reflection on the life of Duke Ellington, and then completely with his reminiscence of covering Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King.

There are three pieces included about the assassination of JFK; only one about Watergate, from years later; and several about the Monica Lewinsky scandal, which from the perspective of only a very few years later seems excessive. May 21, Cheryl rated it really liked it. I think this was most interesting for the look at history and how the world has changed over the 60 years covered by Cooke's broadcasts.

I think that Americans still have an erroneous idea of British superiority or sophistication or enlightenment and this book manages to debunk that. Cooke was as gullible and prone to racial bias and up to the end male chauvinism as the country he covered.

He also was more conservative and supportive of the government position in all things less so with Presi I think this was most interesting for the look at history and how the world has changed over the 60 years covered by Cooke's broadcasts. He also was more conservative and supportive of the government position in all things less so with President Clinton than I had expected.

I wasn't that troubled by the almost rambling style -- he certainly was a man for the lengthy set-up of his point -- but occasionally I wondered at his willingness to toe the party line. Maybe that was his role in explaining America to Britain, in that he had to espouse the party line so that his listeners understood what that party line was, but more than once you wanted to tell him to get a grip.

Even in his recounting of the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, he seems to have been willing to believe that Bush knew best and that it was the right thing to do including urging people to be grateful that Cheney took the role he did in government and not to judge him or Bush harshly. Jan 01, Lachlan rated it really liked it. When I was a child, our family used to cluster round the 'wireless' to hear Alistair Cooke's Letter from America. In post-war Britain, that weekly report from a suave journalist whose voice hovered somewhere between British and American English was for millions of people the authoritative guide to the still poorly known country that had been our ally and with which we had a 'special relationship'.

Cooke continued with his weekly letter into his final year, at the age of 95, becoming a broadcasti When I was a child, our family used to cluster round the 'wireless' to hear Alistair Cooke's Letter from America. Cooke continued with his weekly letter into his final year, at the age of 95, becoming a broadcasting legend.

Reading this selection of just over letters so less than two per year has been a walk down memory lane, but also a chance to admire the sustained perfection of Cooke's style. I also learned the interesting fact that he was a trained linguist. It is my impression that his manner of writing, always elegant and refined, did not change much during his broadcasting life: For me, it was a memory-jogger, an entertainment and an aesthetic experience.

Jul 01, Althea rated it really liked it. Visually, the book is the thickness of a good sized beefburger. Which is an apt description for this delicious opus of American history. As English as cups of tea, guard change at Buckingham palace and sunday roast- Cooke guides us through half a century of Americana in a sweeping, unsympathetic style. We go from the black slums of 's Louisiana to the gilded luxury of 5th Avenue; from the segregated and private jazz clubs to beat-boxes blaring out hip hop for all to hear.

It documents presid Visually, the book is the thickness of a good sized beefburger. It charts Cookes growth from energetic young married father holidaying on Long Island to an elderly man at a loss to the change of pace his grandson happily lives in. His writing is in parts wordy to the extreme and I did skip a few pages, but it is always beautiful, thoughtful and reasonable. His prose has made me sick with envy. I was glad to have read a book by a man- a BBC man of the old school- who documented so much, so expertly. Sep 30, Andrew rated it really liked it Shelves: This collection of his essays fulfills that aim.

These letters are both excellent short pieces demonstrating Cooke's command of the English language, as well as a standalone history of America. Cooke's longevity in his adopted country and remarkable ability for meeting the great and famous allows him to describe all aspects of America's culture and history from the end of the Second Worl Alistair Cooke's famous BBC programme, Letter from America, was begun in part to teach Britain about America.

Cooke's longevity in his adopted country and remarkable ability for meeting the great and famous allows him to describe all aspects of America's culture and history from the end of the Second World War to the beginnings of the twenty-first century. It would make an excellent primer on modern America.

Dec 03, David rated it really liked it Shelves: I discovered Alistair Cooke's "Letter from America" in , I think, and listened to it regularly until he died in , only a week or two after his last broadcast. He spoke about the people he met, about his musings on the week, about politics and world events, and about his observations on the character of America and Americans. I saw this book in Barnes and Noble in the winter of , and when I read from it, I could hear Cooke's voice in the ear of my mind, witty and wry and full of obser I discovered Alistair Cooke's "Letter from America" in , I think, and listened to it regularly until he died in , only a week or two after his last broadcast.

I saw this book in Barnes and Noble in the winter of , and when I read from it, I could hear Cooke's voice in the ear of my mind, witty and wry and full of observations about the world. Taken from his radio broadcasts called Letter from America, this is a truly remarkable volume. Cook's portrait of America and Americans is insightful, his knowledge encyclopedic, his journalistic style unique, calm, beautifully crafted and never glib or derogatory. This book is highly entertaining, informing, full of fascinating anecdotes and, above all, a delight to read Taken from his radio broadcasts called Letter from America, this is a truly remarkable volume.

This book is highly entertaining, informing, full of fascinating anecdotes and, above all, a delight to read. Jan 06, Steve rated it it was amazing. A brilliant collection of broadcasts which capture Cooke's insights on the American way of life from to Each letter stands by itself as a minor masterpiece of observation, wit and style.

Cooke writes about the great and good of American society from Presidents to Hollywood stars from the Vietnam War , the assassination of Kennedy and the Watergate scandal to his favourite sports of Golf and Boxing. Oct 15, Rockardo rated it liked it. This man had the best job in radio. Its an encyclopedia of American life written with such a beautiful attention to detail and a little old school charm.

This man must have had one hell of a contact book and yet I never got the impression that he took his job for granted. For a snapshot of American culture its one of the best books Ive read. Am loving it, but the podcasts are better. His voice and diction add his personal subtle humour to the stories and allow the imagination to see what he saw. Here is a link to the podcasts: Sep 17, Geoff rated it really liked it. I'm a relatively recent convert to Alistair Cooke so I read this to catch up on the 60 years of broadcasts I missed!

What an interesting book, full of anecdotal insight and humour. Nov 17, Alastair Kerr rated it it was amazing. A choice selection of transcripts from Alistair Cooke's fantastic long running radio show. Really captures the changes in the United States over 50 years and the thoughts of a unique journalist. Excellent essays, especially the ones NOT around some topical person or event.

May 31, Phrodrick rated it really liked it. Background Alistair Cooke began covering America for the British public around Days before Pearl Harbor he would be awarded American citizenship. He would also spent the years from to traveling America and reporting his observations back to the British public. His assignment was to help his former countrymen to understand what the American home front was like during WWII.

Selections from this period were published under the title American Home front - previously reviewed by me.

This book represents 70 of about letters, actually broadcasts made by Mr. Cook in the 48 years from to Many had been selected by him. Cooke accepted that he would not live to finish the selection he assigned successor, Mr. Simon Jenkins Part of understanding the method for the sections to be included is explained by Mr. It was their common purpose to place into this book the broadcasts that were not only representative but would also read well.

Cooke always presented himself as a gentleman. He was not given to extremes in expression. Parts of the pleasure in reading this book is learning to detect how passionate or violent were his feelings. Perhaps this is "stiff upper lip" carried too far.

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Not so for me. It is a testament to his skill with language that he could be expressive and communicate clearly without being cruel or blunt. Another part of the pleasure in reading this book is being able to hear his voice. If you have not had the pleasure of hearing this man, there are dozens of videos of him on line.

I will be seeking cd's of his voice should any be available. He had a classic British accent as he was originally from Manchester from working class parents. His delivery was honed by years of radio service and by his innate good manners. Mannerly and gentlemanly as he was, Alistair Cooke could be very clear when he disapproved of aspects of his adopted country.

Mostly what comes across is his wonder and appreciation of what we as American have made of our country. His respect for things American is the greater part of the content of his letters. Reservations The letters included in this book were somehow disappointing. In part this would be because of specific events, The death of friends and notable Americans: As the text moves through the decades these letters tend to cast a pale over the contents. Very few decades do not have their references to wars and the casualties he knew or had met in his career as a journalist.

America's political scandals and our fickle electoral standards would leave Mr. Cooke less than amused. For relief, there are some letters that speak of his family and the pleasures he took from visits to them in New England or in his domestic life In Manhattan and the eastern tip of Long Island. Simply stated, too much of this collection is about death and the disenchantment arising from aging. There are not enough of fun and creative insights. Some that are intended for this purpose are less than engaging. For example he speaks of the differences that continue between American English and His Majesty's English.

This could have been puckish fun, but the example he gives is based on the usage of "called" and "named".

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Show of hands for: Conclusion Ultimately, I enjoyed Letters from America. If you can take pleasure in a master of language; If you enjoy seeing America from the view of a respectful, insightful American, by adoption; If you want more insight into the events of Past War early 21st Century America. This book will satisfy and please you. It is only my speculation, but perhaps if Mr. Letter from America had its origin in London Letter , a minute talk for American listeners on life in Britain that Cooke recorded during the s while working as London correspondent for NBC. London Letter came to an end when Cooke emigrated to America in , but it was not long before he suggested to the BBC the idea of continuing the idea in reverse.

A prototype, Mainly About Manhattan , was broadcast intermittently from October , but the idea was shelved with the outbreak of World War II in The first American Letter was broadcast on 24 March , initially confirmed for only 13 installments, after Cooke had given a one-off talk under that title in the series Sunday Newsletter on 25 November The change of title to Letter from America came on 30 September The series lasted for 2, broadcasts over nearly 58 years and gathered an enormous audience, being broadcast not only in Britain and in many other Commonwealth countries, but throughout the world by the BBC World Service.

On 2 March , at the age of 95, following advice from his doctors, Cooke announced his retirement from Letter from America ; he died less than a month later, on 30 March , at his home in New York City. A compilation of the programme's transcripts was published in Scripts are available to the public via Boston University http: In , the BBC made over episodes freely available online in full. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.