Reporting America: The Life of the Nation 1946 - 2004 [Paperback]

If I recall correctly, I first encountered Alistair Cooke (November 20, 1908 - March 30, 2004) in 1952 when my family and I began to watch a new television program called Omnibus. (I was previously unaware of the fact that Cooke had been a London correspondent for NBC (broadcasting a weekly 15-minute report), settled permanently in the U.S. in 1934, became citizen in 1941, and, over the subsequent years, was the BBC's correspondent, broadcasting a series of weekly reports until shortly before his death. What we have in this volume is a collection of Cooke's remarks over a 58-year period. His daughter, Susan Cooke Kittredge, wrote the material that introduces the book and then each of its five historical periods. As her father's observations clearly indicate, Kittredge is quite correct when describing her father as "a great writer with a keen eye, extraordinary memory, seasoned perspective, and tender heart."

It is important to note that Cook was entirely free to discuss each week whatever and whomever he wished. It is also true that he was an uncommonly likeable person whom others trusted and respected most grew to love and even cherish him. That said, he had an especially keen eye, seldom suffered fools and knaves (and explained why), and developed a passion for his adopted country. Over the years, his weekly subjects included Harry S. Truman, Joe Louis, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Marilyn Monroe, Walt Disney, Louis Armstrong, and Rosa Parks as well as then prominent topics such as "Cancer and Smoking" and "Revulsion Against McCarthy" (1946-1959), "President Kennedy Assassinated," and "Chappaquiddick" ((1960-1969), "Nixon Resigns" and "Why Iran Took the Hostages" (1970-1979), "John Lennon and Handgun Laws" and "The Berlin Wall" (1980-1989), and "The O.J. Simpspn Case" and "The Scandal of Pardons and White House Furniture" (1990-2004). Cooke does not "report" on these persons and events so much as share his quite specific and sometimes critical (but always measured) opinions about them.

Of course, Cooke as well as his opinions changed over several decades. Kittredge speaks to this process when introducing the last collection of commentaries. "With advancing age he became increasingly conservative, something I chose not to discuss with him, as his willingness to indulge my liberal views seemed to be dwindling. I will say, however, that although he had originally been a supporter of the Iraq War, in the last six months of his life he quietly started to wonder if we shouldn't just admit the failure and get out."

Cooke said when concluding his television history of American history, "In this country - a land of the most persistent idealism and the blandest cynicism, -- the race is on between its decadence and his vitality." Years later he expounded on this on-going conflict. "Well, the odds seems to be on the side of decadence. I suppose I'd have felt very much the same way, about most of our sins, if I'd been writing in 1929, never anticipating the crash or the arrival of a Roosevelt to summon up reserves of stamina and work and courage we didn't know were there, which showed, dramatically, that the President, whoever he is, sets the moral tone of the country." Then in his final broadcast on January 4, 2004, Cooke admits it was a mystery to him why President George W. Bush recently "turned down a golden opportunity to claim rightly that he was misled" when told that Saddam Hussein was a serious threat to the security of the United States. "He just doesn't want to blame anybody, including the CIA."

True to form, Cooke recalls a conversation from one of his (and many others') favorite films, Casablanca, in which an American (played by Humphrey Bogart) opens a nightclub and helps refugees from Hitler get to America. When asked, "Why did you come to Casablanca?" lazily he repli8ed: "I came for the waters." "Meester Rick, there are no waters in Casablanca." "I was misinformed." Cooke then asks a question of his own: "When will the President quote Bogart?" Less than three months later, "a great writer with a keen eye, extraordinary memory, seasoned perspective, and tender heart" died. However, fortunately, his knowledge, wisdom, wit, and eloquence continue to be available in countless books, CDs, and DVDs. I envy those who have yet to share the pleasure of his company.

In a box, in an attic somewhere I have half a dozen or so now tatty paperbacks of the writings of Alistair Cooke. Most of them are transcrips of his broadcasts for the BBC that started in 1946 and ending only shortly before his death in 2004. These broadcasts - Letter From America - became a broadcasting institution being heard the world over by virtue of the BBC World Service.

The title for this edition of Cooke's work couldn't be more appropriate for if the strength of Cook's reports could be condensed to one factor then it was his ability view the social life, economic and military ructions of The Superpower, from the ground up. Stripping the myth of America of its gloss he portrayed the powerful as real men with real characters and outlined the rel problems that they faced. His awareness of the problems faced by all those in positions of influence is a prominent feature of his reports.

The book itself is a superbly produced tome with each report being accompanied by relevant photographs. My copy is by my bed now and I read a report or three before getting my head down.

I imagine that most of who read this will already be familiar with Alistair Cooke for those of you who are not but are interested in America and it's post WW2 history then you must buy this book for the quality of its witness.

Alastair Cooke is a bit like the Queen - you need to be very senior to have been around before either of them. This book - edited by his daughter who provides interesting biographical anecdotes - is a must for all fans of this brilliant reporter. As you read the text of his "letters" and pieces for the Guardian - you can hear his rich melifluous mid atlantic voice delivering the text. You smile as he wanders down a seemingly irrelevant side alley only to come back to the point in hand with a grace and elegance that was unique to him. I miss his letters but thanks to the BBC website you can still listen to many of them.

Highly recommnmeded.

Paul Bennett