Dimensions
167 x 240 x 50mm
The Biography.
We all recognise the unmistakable voice, but how much do we know about the writer of the 'Letter from America'? In a BBC career spanning 65 years, Alistair Cooke has given little more than tantalising glimpses of the man behind the microphone. Only in his late eighties did he break a steadfast rule, allowing a biographer close enough to tell the whole compelling story of his life and times.
As Nick Clarke has discovered in many hours of interviews, Alistair Cooke's life story is full of surprises. Clarke tells of Cooke's Blackpool boarding house upbringing; through his Cambridge years, where Cooke was on nodding terms with the Prince of Wales; to his friendship with Charlie Chaplin; to being hired by the fledgling BBC as a film critic. Drawing on a rich variety of private and public sources, Clarke shows how Cooke carved out for himself a unique position as a commentator on American life and politics for the BBC. And how Cooke launched energetically into new careers, becoming a familiar television face in the US on Masterpiece Theatre and completing his epic BBC series and book, 'America'.
Cooke's story is not without its sadness, frustration and regrets, and Nick Clarke gives us the whole man - as well as celebrating the author of the best known 'Letter' in broadcasting history.
