How President Lyndon B Johnson had to make way for a honeymoon. Published on August 21, 1966.

LFA: Honeymoon with the president

A fragment preserved from Cooke's talk, reflecting on the importance of democratic capitalism and a free economy to Americans. Published on January 12, 1947.

LFA: A fragment from 1947

The Watts riots in Los Angeles - were they an uprising by black Americans angry at their treatment or simply criminally motivated looting and violence? Published on August 22, 1965.

LFA: The LA Watts riots

An eyewitness account of the assassination of Bobby Kennedy on June 5, 1968 in Los Angeles, and the collective-guilt aftermath for America. Published on June 9, 1968.

LFA: Bobby Kennedy's assassination

A tribute to American Pianist William Kappell, the best pianist of his generation, and what music means to Americans. Published on November 5, 1953.

LFA: William Kapell (1922 -1953)

How the debacle of the Cassius Clay–Sonny Liston boxing prize fight tarnished one of the elements of American culture - sportsmanship Published on May 30, 1965.

LFA: Clay vs Liston Fight

President Lyndon B Johnson's inauguration for his own full first term, and some earlier notable inaugurations, including Washington and Jefferson's. Published on January 17, 1965.

LFA: President Johnson's inauguration, 1965

Democracy demonstrated - how the President of the United States had to make way for Mr Meyer Sugarman's wedding night. Published on August 21, 1966.

Honeymoon with President Johnson, 1966

The national mood begins to change over the Vietnam war - how America began to move from early indifference to the recognition of a nightmare. Published on March 24, 1968.

1000th letter - American reactions to Vietnam, 1968

Alistair Cooke remembers Lindsay Wellington, the BBC head who came up with the idea of weekly letters to help people in the UK understand American life in 1946. Published on September 8, 1957.

500th letter

Letter from America: the early years (1940s, 1950s and 1960s)

The assassinations of John F Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy through to Vietnam and America’s shame at the My Lai massacre. A fascinating social, cultural and political history of American life, through the words of British-American journalist and broadcaster, Alistair Cooke (1908 – 2004).



Letter from America 47-68