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May 2009

America, Empire of Liberty:
Volume 2: Power & Progress

Volume Two of David Reynolds's major BBC Radio 4 series traces America's story from the Civil War to World War Two.

This epic narrative tells America's story through the voices of those who lived it­presidents and farmers, mothers and children, settlers and soldiers, immigrants and native Americans.

In Power & Progress, the second series of thirty episodes, Reynolds depicts the tragedy and heroism of the Civil War (1861-5), which finally ended slavery though not racial discrimination, and the dynamism of the reunited nation as it grew into an industrial giant. World War One made America a force on the world stage but then the country lost its way, and its nerve, in the Depression, only for another World War to turn it into a nuclear superpower by 1945. But this is also the story of how ordinary Americans lived, worked and had fun - with fascinating snapshots of H.J. Heinz, Buffalo Bill and Gone With the Wind, of skyscrapers, baseball and the Flappers.

Alistair Cooke
The Essential Letters From America: The 1980's

Alistair Cooke's most momentous radio Letters from the 1980s.

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.

In this collection of Letters, Cooke reports on the attempt to rescue the American hostages in Iran, President Reagan's inauguration, the Challenger space shuttle explosion and Black Monday. In addition, he talks about political speechwriting, muses on the silly season, discusses the difference between the American and English use of language, celebrates the 100th birthday of Irving Berlin and considers the effects of the catastrophic San Francisco earthquake.

The Letters are set in their historical context with a specially commissioned script narrated by the BBC's award-winning American correspondent Matt Frei. Whether the topics he explores are serious or humorous, Cooke's unique style of expression and analysis shines through in these classic broadcasts from one of the world's most famous letter writers and radio's greatest observer.

Old Harry's game, Series 7

This fiery furnace of brilliant one­liners and biting satire features all six episodes from the seventh BBC Radio 4 series of this fiendishly funny comedy set in hell. Written by and starring Andy Hamilton, writer of Drop the Dead Donkey, Trevor's World of Sport, Revolting People and Outnumbered.