Alistair Cooke – författare

A defining collection from Alistair Cooke's legendary BBC Radio broadcasts, guiding us through nearly sixty years of changing life in the United States'No one else succeeded in explaining to the English-speaking world ... the idiosyncrasies of a country at once so familiar, and yet so utterly foreign' IndependentWhen Alistair Cooke retired in February 2004 he was acclaimed as one of the greatest broadcasters of all time. His Letter from America radio series, which began in 1946 and continued every week for fifty-eight years until his retirement, kept the world in touch with what was happening in America. Cooke's wry, humane and liberal style both informed and entertained his audience. The selection here, made largely by Cooke himself and supplemented by his literary executor, gives us the very best of these legendary broadcasts. It covers key moments from the assassination of Kennedy through to the Vietnam War and Watergate to 9/11, the Iraq War and anticipates the 2004 elections. It includes portraits of the great and the good from Charlie Chaplin to Martin Luther King, Jr, and topics as varied as civil rights, golf, jazz and the changing colours of a New England fall. Each Letter contributes to a captivating portrait of a nation - and of a man.

First published in 1973, this follow-up to Alistair Cooke's acclaimed 1972 television documentary series America: A Personal History of the United States has sold almost two million copies. From the nation's discovery to modern times; from the American revolutionaries to the pioneers who forged westward; from the slaves who fled north to the immigrants that sought a new life, Cooke vividly describes the spirit of the United States. Cooke's portrayal of America's dynamic history and its ever-changing present continues to provide striking insights into the remarkable character of a nation.

This now classic portrait of Douglas Fairbanks - the swashbuckling original King of Hollywood - was first published in 1940. Long out of print and hard to find, Alistair Cooke's posthumous biography was the first serious consideration of the career of the great silent screen star and husband of America's sweetheart, Mary Pickford. Reissued here in a facsimile edition, Douglas Fairbanks: The Making of a Screen Character treats, step by step, the course of Fairbanks' career, and sheds light on the mysterious ingredients of screen popularity and on the history of motion pictures generally. Alistair Cooke, the distinguished journalist and broadcaster, was assistant to Charlie Chaplin when he met Iris Barry, MoMA's first film curator, in 1938. Barry invited Cooke to participate in the Museum's groundbreaking film course at Columbia University and commissioned him to write Douglas Fairbanks: The Making of a Screen Character.

For more than sixty years Alistair Cooke wrote and broadcast on every facet of American life with incomparable wit and wisdom. This is his ‘personal history’ of America, the best-selling book that accompanied his legendary BBC television series which was first broadcast in November 1972. It has sold over two million copies and has emerged through tumultuous times to become regarded as a classic. It is an irresistibly readable guide to what has made this powerful democracy work and survive through 200 years.Alistair writes with authority about the explorers who put their new-found land on the map, the pioneers who tamed the Wild West, the soldiers who fought for independence, the slaves who fled north, the tycoons who built fortunes and the immigrants that sought a new life. From the Mayflower to the gold rush, the jazz age to Pearl Harbor, with portraits of figures as varied as Buffalo Bill, John D. Rockefeller and Martin Luther King Jr., here is the American story in all its triumphs and failures, grandeurs and tragedies. It is the defining portrait of a nation.This anniversary edition includes the reflective note to the reader that Alistair Cooke wrote in 2002.

When Alistair Cooke retired in March 2004 and then died a few weeks later, he was acclaimed by many as one of the greatest broadcasters of all time. His Letters from America, which began in 1946 and continued uninterrupted every week until early 2004, kept the world in touch with what was happening in Cooke's wry, liberal and humane style. This selection, made largely by Cooke himself and supplemented by his literary executor, gives us the very best of these legendary broadcasts. Over half have never appeared in print before. It is a remarkable portrait of a continent - and a man.