Alistair Cooke is the microphone's great observer, the doyen of foreign correspondents and the world's most famous letter writer. Since 1946 he has been explaining the Americans through his weekly Letter From America, the longest-running one-man series in broadcasting history. It has been, and still is, a virtuoso performance: informed, informal, shrewd, funny, and erudite.In this personally chosen selection from 1946-1968, Cooke reports on everything from an Indian village in New Mexico to the Watts riots in Los Angeles. He recalls the kidnapping of a baby and the trials of a summer bachelor. He gives us vivid word pictures of events such as John Glenn's journey into space and the assassination of Robert Kennedy.
Every event evokes a particular time and place, but Cooke's unique style of expression and analysis provides each with a resonance that echoes through the years.