"You know, when I told an old Southerner, a friend of mine, that I was going to try to tell my version of American history in thirteen hours, he said 'Better talk fast, boy.'"
Through his BBC radio series , Letter from America's, Alistair Cooke reported on every aspect of life in the United States for over 50 years.
In 1973 he wrote and presented this critically acclaimed TV series, which became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, generated a best-selling book and earned Cooke an invitation to address Congress in bicentannial celebrations in 1874. Cooke died in March 2004, just a month after his last ever letter from America.
In this very indivdual examination of the history of his adopted country, 'his passion for America and it's affect on his life are very clear throughout the series, as Cooke takes us from the settlement of America by the Europeans to its transformation to an industrial super power his distinctive voice, imposing screen presence and great storytelling talent ensures each episode is compelling and fascinating.
Cooke's legendary "Letter from America" was a regular fixture on BBC radio for 50 years, and in the mid-seventies he was invited to make a television series on the country, his adopted home. The result was a landmark piece of personalised reporting and one of the great BBC documentary series.
Alistair Cooke’s appeal was through his humanism. He saw America through people, their daily lives and the idiosyncratic and often contradictory way they go about them... more >
Alistair Cooke’s appeal was through his humanism. He saw America through people, their daily lives and the idiosyncratic and often contradictory way they go about them. His America, first broadcast in thirteen 50 minute episodes in 1972, was unashamedly his personal view and very much the better for it. His distinctive voice, imposing presence and conversational style dominate the program but we also learn a lot more about what made the United States of America what it is than we would have done from a dozen dry pieces from academic historians. It’s as fresh and watchable now as when it was made < less
