'Such experience, wisdom and education are unlikely ever again to combine in one journalist'

Mark Lawson

Alistair Cooke was radio's great observer, the doyen of foreign correspondents and the world's most famous letter writer From 1946 until 2004. he explained the Americans to the British through his weekly Letter From America, the longest-running one-man series In broadcasting history. It was always a virtuoso performance - informed, informal, shrewd, funny and erudite.

In this volume, Cooke reports on a varied selection of events, including the 1992 presidential election, the art of Charles Schulz and introducing Bernstein to Handel's Messiah. He remembers the infamous standoff over Cuba, which nearly caused a third world war, and recalls the more recent shocking events surrounding September 11th 2001 and the subsequent 'war on terror'. 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.

This release also contains a bonus programme. Remembering Alistair Cooke, in which BBC Radio 4 presenter James Naughtie and a selection of Cooke's friends, family and colleagues pay tribute to the great broadcaster