Alistair Cooke : The Biography

by Nick Clarke

One of the preeminent journalists of the twentieth century, Alistair Cooke has enjoyed a truly extraordinary career in print, radio, and television. Born into a working-class family and christened Alfred, Cooke swiftly broke free of his modest origins and became the foremost commentator on American life and politics, first for the British press and eventually for the entire world. Alistair Cooke: A Biography is both a fascinating record of one man's determination to reinvent himself and a lively and informative journey through the highways and byways of the twentieth century.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Politics

548 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Peter Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good biography but long,exhaustively long for an interesting figure (largely forgotten today,I think) but remembered by We old folk.I loved his radio talks and they served a purpose in getting British people to understand America and Americans from the 1940s to 1980s.Now his talks(available on podcasts,I think) are still informative for historians but period pieces for most people.This book is an honest account of his life and importance.I was surprised by his background(Blackpool -the North),his name change (Alfred to Alistair) and his slowly emerging career.Too long perhaps for most people

[Gillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough going at times. I grew up with "Letter from America" and it was very interesting to find out more about Alistair Cooke.

[Jimbob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good biography of a pundit of the 'pre-pundit age'

[Ed Crutchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A selection of scripts from the much-loved BBC broadcasts of Alistair Cooke from between 1948 and 2004; the entire life of the radio programme of that name. Wonderful reading.

[Alayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had heard of Alistair Cooke, but never actually heard him. I was interested to read about him and indeed he sounds like he was a very interesting man. I found the book fairly heavy going though, as I don't think the author was as good at telling a story as his subject was! At 620 pages it's a big book to read as well.