Letter from America, 1946-2004

by Alistair Cooke

For over half a century, Alistair Cooke entertained and informed millions of listeners around the world in his weekly BBC radio program Letter from America. An outstanding observer of the American scene, he became one of the world’s best-loved broadcasters, and a foreigner who helped Americans better understand themselves.

Here, in print for the first time, is a collection of Cooke’s finest reports that celebrates the inimitable style of this wise and avuncular reporter. Beginning with his first letter in 1946, a powerful description of American GIs returning home, and ending with his last broadcast in February 2004, in which he expressed his views on the United States presidential campaign, the collection captures Cooke’s unique voice and gift for telling stories.

Gathered in this volume are encounters with the many presidents Cooke knew, from Roosevelt to Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush, both Senior and Junior. His friends are warmly recollected–among them Leonard Bernstein, Philip Larkin, Humphrey Bogart, Charlie Chaplin, and Katharine Hepburn. We observe a variety of political landmarks–the Vietnam War, Watergate, Cooke’s remarkable eyewitness account of Robert Kennedy’s assassination, through to the scandals that surrounded Clinton and the conflict in Iraq. His moving evocation of the events of September 11 and its aftermath remains essential reading, while his recollections of holidays and sporting events remind us of Cooke’s delight in the pleasures of everyday life.

Imbued with Alistair Cooke’s good humor, elegance, and understanding, Letter from America, 1946—2004 is a captivating insight into the heart of a nation and a fitting tribute to the man who was for so many the most reassuring voice of our times.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Essays, Biography, Journalism, Politics, Memoir

528 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1994

About the author

Books of British-American journalist and broadcaster Alfred Alistair Cooke include Around the World in 50 Years (1966) and Alistair Cooke's America (1973).

After the University of Cambridge graduated him, the British Broadcasting Corporation hired him. This legendary television host rose to prominence for his reports on London Letter on radio of National Broadcasting Corporation during the 1930s. Cooke immigrated to the United States in 1937. In 1946, he began his radio appearances on Letter from America on the British Broadcasting Corporation; this tradition that lasted nearly six decades.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistai...

Reviews

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 4 out of 5]

- This is an absolute gem of a book which I accidentally stumbled upon in a second-hand book shop.

- Alastair Cooke was a British- born American journalist and is considered as a legend as far as radio broadcasting is concerned.



- This book deals with Cooke’s weekly BBC radio program “Letter from America”, which aired for around 60 years.

- If you love History, particularly American History, you are in for a treat as it covers almost all the important events that happened in the USA during the latter half of the 20th century.

- Some of the notable personalities and events discussed in this book are

- John F. Kennedy
- Franklin D.Roosevelt
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Richard Nixon
- Bill Clinton
- George Bush (Senior and Junior)
- Charlie Chaplin
- Katharine Hepburn
- Humphrey Bogart
- 9/11 attacks
- Pearl Harbor attack
- Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination (his eyewitness account)
- Rosa Parks and Montgomery bus boycott
- Vietnam War
- Watergate scandal
- Cuban missile crisis
- Challenger shuttle explosion
- Impeachment of Bill Clinton
- Iraq conflict
- Various close Presidential elections that America had to witness

- If you are interested in this book, I strongly recommend also to hear the audiobook version of it.

- Cooke himself narrates the audiobook version humorously, and it has the chronological collection of Cooke’s rare original broadcasts. We feel like reliving History, especially when we hear his eyewitness accounts of the significant historical events.

- This is one of the very few books which I read both in the physical book and audiobook versions, and in my opinion, this is a must-read book if you are a History fanatic.

[Roy Lotz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a selection of Alistair Cooke’s iconic radio program, Letters from America. Cooke, a Brit by birth, immigrated to the United States in his early twenties, and spent virtually the rest of his career as a kind of cultural ambassador for his adopted home. Though my first experience of Cooke was from his documentary, America, for most of his professional life he was a friendly, disembodied voice on the radio, speaking with a winsome trans-Atlantic accent about Yankee mores.

Cooke’s program is remarkable for its mere longevity—fifty-eight years, from 1946 to 2004. To put this in perspective, my grandmother was an adolescent when the program made its debut, and I was an adolescent when Cooke called it quits. Life is not so short after all, at least in Cooke’s case. This selection opens with a broadcast Cooke made in 1945, about the collision of a B-25 bomber into the Empire State Building; and it includes the tragic September 11 attacks, fifty-six years later. By that time, Cooke had seen the Korean War and both the Gulf Wars, had been personally present at the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, and had totally changed the technology used to record and transmit his letters.

But the program is also remarkable for its substance and style. Cooke was a wonderful writer in his own quiet way—affable, conversational, yet eloquent and even lyrical. He had a manner of putting his talks together so that they seemed to ramble, and yet they always came around to an amusing or touching point, often in the very last sentence. His curiosity led him here and there—music, sports, politics, cinema, etymologies—and he had quite a few of his own hobbyhorses, such as golf and vice-presidents. As he grew older, his talks grew increasingly personal and full of his own reminiscence, which added an extra dimension to his reflections. To top it off, Cooke was blessed with an excellent radio voice, the perfect vehicle for his prose.

The real value of these letters is cumulative. As the years went by, Cooke himself became a kind of living link with the past, capable of seeing current events in the perspective of history. His memory was capacious and he was always ready to supplement his talks with some arcane bit of Americana. The final impression is of a man simply awash in the rolling years. Most striking for me—listening to the letters at this historical moment—was that Cooke managed to be a commentator on American life without being politically partisan. This was immensely refreshing, and probably good for my blood pressure.

This particular edition* is excellent, consisting of the actual recordings, interspersed with commentary and context by Matt Frei. It also includes an hour-long BBC special on Cooke’s life. One comes away from the program almost in awe of the man—not that he was saintly or a genius, but that he was so very persistently original. We will not see his like again.

*I could not find this edition on Goodreads, but it is available as an audiobook.

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Background
Alistair Cooke began covering America for the British public around 1941. Days before Pearl Harbor he would be awarded American citizenship. He would also spent the years from 1941 to 1946 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 950 letters, actually broadcasts made by Mr. Cook in the 48 years from 1946 to 2004. Many had been selected by him. Once Mr. 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. Jenkins. It was their common purpose to place into this book the broadcasts that were not only representative but would also read well.

Alistair Cooke
Mr. 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. 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: from Duke Ellington to Bing Crosby to close friend Charles Addams, to the assignations of the two Kennedy brothers. 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". As in: is a person named Henry named Henry or called Henry. Show of hands for: Who cares?
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. Jenkins had finished assembling Letters from America, after he had fully mourned the loss of Mr. Cooke, we might have had a different selection by which we can remember Alistair Cooke.

[Adelaide · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book educated me on many things I always wanted to know about. Humourous whille informative on many of Americas key events. Even though I feel like I dont always quite get the joke I love the voice and tone Alistair Cooke has. I just wish he was still around to give his views on America currently.

[Skyring · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm working my way through it, savouring the letters. This is the Folio Books edition - yes I'm a sucker for their beautifully produced books - and that adds to the pleasure. Alistair Cooke has a nicely rounded turn of phrase and he has so much to say about America.

For my part, I have a lot to learn, even though I've visited once or twice each year since 2005. A fascinating culture, rich and robust.

Alistair Cooke's extraordinary career chronicles the rise and glory of the superpower from the triumph of the Second World War to what is clearly the beginning of the end, as the Twin Towers fell and then so did George Bush's popularity.

But in between, what a tale of culture, technology, optimism and personalities! The American Century is how the Twentieth will be remembered, and Cooke was there at so many of the crucial moments.

He is the ideal commentator on the culture. Well-educated, well-read, well-spoken. Informed, but still an outside observer, never "gone local" so much that he could not criticise where criticism was required or explain for his British audience an unfamiliar term or custom, knowing where outside eyes needed direction.

But here he is, immersed in the nation, friend to Presidents and moviestars, on the spot announcing the dramas of the Sixties, the odd fashions of the Seventies, the rise of popular technology beyond that. For many people in Britain and beyond, he was America.

This collection barely touches the surface of the great opus, delivered a week at a time. It is a pity Folio didn't produce the whole lot in matching volumes. Even so, this is one book I'll be sure to pull down, whenever I want exactly the right turn of phrase to describe Fall in Maine or the curve of a Cadillac.

[Rockardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This man had the best job in radio. A weekly BBC broadcast about life in the US that lasted for 58 years.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.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I forget who said you can't go back, or maybe it was you can't go home, but for me this collection of Cooke's letters from America was a devastating example of the awful truth of that statement. I listened to him as an adolescent, teenager and young and then not so young man. As I got older I was not a constant listener but I was always an appreciative one. Revisiting broadcasts designed to be heard, in print, is always problematic but what I was not prepared for was the revelation of how flawed his presentation of America was. To be blunt how much he did not understand or got wrong.

The most glaring example of this is his reporting on all aspects of the civil rights movement and, before it, his presentation of anything to do with black Americans struggles to be anything but oppressed third class helots in their own country is shocking; he was so blind to any kind of social injustice. He was utterly at home in segregationist America and was sympathetic and understanding of those whites who, to put it crudely, were afraid of uppity black men (and sadly I am sure Cooke would have had no problem using the word I won't even dignify by representing it with a single letter). I wouldn't call him a racist but for a journalist to be so out of step with one of the most important stories challenging and changing America calls into question to much about his reliability as a reporter.

It wasn't something restricted to a particular time or which can be viewed within a learning curve. America changed and Cooke ignored the change.

So this book was a great disappointment. I couldn't finish it because I wanted to retain something of the fond memories I had of his broadcasts - and many of them were very good - but Cooke has been compromised for me, forever.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 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).

[Lachlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 broadcasting legend. Reading this selection of just over 100 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: so you have to forgive him for his occasional snobbery (casually mentioning dinners with Senators, etc.), for referring to British people (of both sexes) as Englishmen and for an uncritical attitude in his old age to the neocons. For me, it was a memory-jogger, an entertainment and an aesthetic experience.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alistair Cooke's famous BBC programme, Letter from America, was begun in part to teach Britain about America. 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 World War to the beginnings of the twenty-first century. It would make an excellent primer on modern America.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent essays, especially the ones NOT around some topical person or event.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1040674.html[return][return]Part of the Sunday morning routine of my childhood was to listen to the weekly ten or fifteen minute "Letter from America", one of the world's longest radio programmes, produced in a stunning 2.689 editions over 58 years before Cooke gave up in 2004, a few weeks before his death at the age of 96. 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.[return][return]The BBC has a tribute section on its website, where you can read and hear all about it. 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.[return][return]They don't all work as well on the printed page, but there are some that do - a brilliant lyrical description of the New England fall; a lovely account of a family Christmas; his eyewitness account of the assassination of Robert Kennedy. 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.[return][return]Anyway, it's a heavy book, probably better for dipping into than reading straight through as I did, but worth having by anyone who remembers him.

[Althea · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 1940'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 presidents from Eisenhower, Kennedy, LBJ to less renowned for their cerebellum- Reagan and Bush. 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. Bravo.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered Alistair Cooke's "Letter from America" in 2002, I think, and listened to it regularly until he died in 2004, 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 2004, 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.

[Natascia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taken from his radio broadcasts called Letter from America, this is a truly remarkable volume. Through a rich tapestry of details on a vast range of subjects you are taken to very heart of a nation, it's a 360° panorama. 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. Highly recommended.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant collection of broadcasts which capture Cooke's insights on the American way of life from 1946 to 2004. 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.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of virtuoso broadcasts covering 1936–2004.

This is a curated collection, but most are available on the BBC's website. Here are a few of the best:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00s...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00y...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00y...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00s...

[Des · Rating 5 out of 5]

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:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/...

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Alastair Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Pete Quigley · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, this is not one of the books where you start at the front cover and progress 'page by page' to the back cover.
This is a book one "dips into" from time-to-time, reading one or two of the letters.
For that reason, I will *always* be reading this book.

As an aside, listening to the broadcasts of the letters in the UK on BBC Radio 4 on a Sunday morning played no small part in my falling in love with America and my ultimate decision to move to the US and become a US citizen. I've never regretted *that* decision

As a heads-up, a number of the letters are extremely poignant, the letter "A Bad Night in Los Angeles" (centering on the murder of RFK) being a case in point.

My sense is that Alistair Cooke was a journalist with integrity - a journalist unafraid to document his true thoughts, regardless of the prevailing wisdom through the passage of time.

His journalistic integrity, his depth of thought and ability to reflect emotion in his writing is sadly missed in these times that try men's souls.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read the brief notes of various broadcasts, I could hear the author’s voice gently and incisively telling us, his British listeners, stories of the USA.

The exotic, made familiar through movies and music; the small, human stories familiar to all of us and the apparently bizarre(but so well explained by digressions into history and culture): everything became grist to Cooke’s mill.

Despite, or perhaps because of, his discursive approach, we learned far more about our American cousins, than dozens of movies and hours of lectures could ever teach us. And all of it humanely and wittily executed in brief broadcasts of a few minutes.

Delightful.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, of course, echoing through my childhood as a known radio voice, it didn't speak to me as well in book form. How often does that happen?

It's gone to the nearest Oxfam Bookshop for recycling under the'Tag your Bag' scheme for recycling. It was another, apparently good present idea but, thankfully, the giver thinks it is a good idea to recycle your books, even past presents, if you see what I mean.

A brilliant broadcaster, though. Worth getting it in audio book form, as it really is worth listening to.

[Frank Catania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alistair Cooke was the BBC's correspondent in America for decades. His observations on American life, culture, and politics provide a look at our country through foreign eyes—seeing things most Americans miss. In this, he offers a valuable perspective that helps anyone understand our own country even better. He is a masterful storyteller whose voice comes out clearly on the page. An enjoyable and informative read.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me quite a while to read.

Interesting perspective one has now on things from not too long ago. Times are a changing quickly.

Overall I enjoyed reading his stories from America. I learned about the past, it was interesting to read an adult's take on the time of my childhood and see him change from an optimist to more of a pessimist during the 58 years this book spans.

[Shlomo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderfully written with a good take on America from a Brit-Americana. Apart from a few noted comments, he seemed to have glossed over the “Black Problem” and the mistreatment of the Indians. Some might suggest that was the time, but my take is he was trying to ingratiate himself with Americans he glossed over all others. A great writer though and if one cares, a book to read.

[Peter Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hours of reading about American political and everyday life.Cooke would be familiar to any literate person of my age as his weekly radio talk was broadcast.It relates how an intelligent and perceptive Englishman tried to explain America to British listeners over the years.I have since found that these and more are now podcasts,available for all.Highly recommended for lovers of recent history.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating life and what a fascinating book. I used to listen to his weekly letter on the BBC on and off from the 1970s all the way to this century and, reading these excerpts, could once again hear the dulcet tones and the impeccable prose. A genuine treat

[Clive Grewcock · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is strange that this didn't work for me as growing up Alistair Cooke's broadcast were very much part of our Sundays, but somehow in prose form they seemed hard work and with an odd clumsy rhythm. I dipped in and out, but in the end a second consecutive DNF.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and insightful. Great for reading in short spurts. Naturally as the letters moved from the distant past into my life time there were more familiar names and events.