Six Men

During his broadcasting career Alistair Cooke met and knew some of the twentieth century's most fascinating and legendary figures, in journalism, politics, public life, sport and film. This is his highly personal and revealing account of six remarkable men who crossed Cooke's path during his lifetime and who, each in their own way, made a lasting impression on him. Here are candid portraits of the lovable yet unreliable Charlie Chaplin, who, when asked to be Cooke's best man, mysteriously vanished on the day; the complex and private man behind Humphrey Bogart's tough guy image; and the charming yet childlike 'golden boy' Edward VIII. Cooke also recalls his friend and mentor, the flawed contrarian and satirist H.L. Mencken, the larger-than-life liberal politician Adlai Stevenson and the heroic social reformer Bertrand Russell. Each superbly realized portrait gives us an insight into a golden age of 'great men', and is a masterpiece of observation, warmth and humour. Drawing on a lifetime of journalistic encounters with the great and the famous, Alistair Cooke profiles the six extraordinary men who impressed him the most Over the course of his sixty-year career as a broadcaster, television host, and newspaper reporter, Alistair Cooke met many remarkable people of the twentieth century. This entertaining and insightful collection shares his unique, often startling personal vision of six key figures from the worlds of literature, entertainment, and politics. They are: Charlie Chaplin, whom Cooke befriended in Hollywood and who courted controversy in his politics and romances; the charming-yet-naive Edward VIII, whose love affair changed the course of World War II; Humphrey Bogart, the first antihero hero onscreen and a sensitive gentleman at home; H. L. Mencken, brilliant, inspirational, and deeply flawed; Adlai Stevenson, whom Cooke labeled the failed saint; and Bertrand Russell, who had the courage and the audacity to try to make the world a better place. The subjects of Six Men are united by the deep complexities of their characters. In balancing informed details of their lives with an objectivity set against the ever-changing landscape of their times, Six Men is a master course in the art of concise biography. A Note On Fame And Friendship.--charles Chaplin: The One And Only.--edward Viii: The Golden Boy.--h. L. Mencken: The Public And The Private Face.--adlai Stevenson: The Failed Saint.--bertrand Russell: The Lord Of Reason.--humphrey Bogart: Epitaph For A Tough Guy. By Alistair Cooke. A note on fame and friendship. Charles Chaplin: the one and only. Edward VIII: the golden boy. H. L. Mencken: The public and the private face. Humphrey Bogart: epitaph for a tough guy. Adlai Stevenson: the failed saint. Bertrand Russell: the lord of reason. A note on fame and friendship. Charles Chaplin: the one and only. Edward VIII: the golden boy. H. L. Mencken: The public and the private face. Adlai Stevenson: The failed saint. Bertrand Russell: the lord of reason. Humphrey Bogart: epitaph for a tough guy. The erudite writer and paragon of television commentators recalls his friendships with, and the personal characteristics of, Chaplin, the Duke of Windsor, Mencken, Adlai Stevenson, Bertrand Russell, and Bogart