Five specially selected letters from American election years, based on the BBC Radio 4 series Cooke’s Elections Alistair Cooke was a radio legend, entertaining millions of listeners for over fifty years in his weekly Letter from America. It was the longest-running one-man series in radio history, and every show was a virtuoso performance. Wise and witty, informed yet informal, Cooke was the doyen of foreign correspondents. To correspond with the 2008 election, and the centenary of Alistair Cooke’s birth, here are five Letters about previous presidents and their elections over the past sixty years, in which Cooke – one of the world’s most famous letter writers and radio’s greatest observer – reflects on American life and politics. Starting with Truman’s surprise victory in 1948 and concluding with another surprise win, that of George W. Bush in 2000 – he comments on opinion polls, democracy,the difference between Democrats and Republicans, Bill Clinton’s fashion sense and what Clinton’s symbolic rejection of ‘the blue blazer’ meant to the American political system. In each Letter, his unique style of expression and analysis shines through. The Letters are introduced by the BBC’s North America editor, Justin Webb, who sets them in their historical context and reflects on what has changed since Cooke’s original broadcasts and what has not.

Five specially selected letters from American election years

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