Dimensions
128 x 198 x 42mm
The Biography
For over 50 years Alistair Cooke has been the unmistakable voice of the BBC's 'Letter From America'. After years of dissuading potential biographers, he finally succumbed to the approaches of Nick Clarke and this biography has been written with his complete co-operation. Born in the back streets of Salford, Cooke was christened plain Alfred, and brought up in a Blackpool boarding house. He swiftly broke free from his modest origins, swept through Cambridge, changed his name and was soon on nodding terms with the Prince of Wales. He was befriended by Charlie Chaplin, hired by the fledgling BBC as a film critic and married into one of America's most famous families and set up home in New York. And that's just the start of the tale.