As the presidential candidates debate on TV, political prowess seems to be in the eye of the beholder.

This archive edition of Letter from America was recorded by one of two listeners, who between them taped and labelled over 650 Letter From America programmes from 1973 to 1989. It was restored by the BBC in 2014.

The impact of Hurricane Gilbert on Jamaica and Central America, and the 1938 hurricane that destroyed a large part of the forests of New England, as discussed by Alistair Cooke.

Jimmy Carter's rise to prominence of in 1976, and Michael Dukakis' struggle to establish a new and attractive identity for himself ahead of the 1988 presidential election.

Too strange to be believed, the natural phenomena that prompted the founding of the US national parks.

This archive edition of Letter from America was recorded by one of two listeners, who between them taped and labelled over 650 Letter From America programmes from 1973 to 1989. It was restored by the BBC in 2014.

Remembering when presidential candidates only spoke about policy, and when Adlai Stephenson broke the rule. And could the hot summer be the result of greenhouse gases?

Alistair Cooke reflects on why George H W Bush may have chosen Dan Quayle as vice-presidential candidate, and the constitutional powers of the vice president's role.

President Reagan gives his farewell address at the Republican convention in Kansas. A heat wave, drought and forest fires continue to cause problems across the US.

A look at the problems faced by New York's mayor Ed Koch, his weekly interrogation by the public on TV and his attempts to fight drug use and keep New York's beaches clean.

As the 1988 election looms closer, day care becomes a prime issue. Alistair Cooke reflects on the unexpected success of the newspaper USA Today, founded in 1982.

Alistair Cooke reports on the polluted state of America's waters, coastline and lakes, its effect on the wildlife and the reactions of the public.