Reporting America

A fitting tribute to Cooke and his accounts of postwar America, this collection of his dispatches ranging from the soldiers of WWII coming home in 1946 to the threat of Saddam in 2004 coincides with what would have been Cooke’s 100th birthday (he died in 2004). Cooke, an Englishman who adopted America as his home, captured the country’s historic moments (Korea, the civil rights movement, the moon landing, Watergate), but also traveled extensively and gave voice to the man in the street and outside of the hotbeds of power. Best known as the host of television’s Masterpiece Theater and the voice of radio’s Letter from America , Cooke was both a force and a media darling. Photos accompany his “letters” (he wrote nearly 3,000 of them), and his daughter writes a touching introduction and commentaries. A personal take on a tumultuous time, this book will especially appeal to those who were there. (Dec.)