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Desert Island Discs

Castaway guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

Desert Island Discs: Max Nicholson

17/09/1995

Max Nicholson

BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Max Nicholson

Sue Lawley's castaway is ornithologist and conservationist Max Nicholson

Sue Lawley's castaway is ornithologist and conservationist Max Nicholson.

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a man who spans our century. Aged 91, Max Nicholson has enjoyed careers in conservation, politics, journalism and the Civil Service.

But his great passion remains ornithology. As a tiny boy, his parents took him one rainy afternoon to see the stuffed birds in the Natural History Museum, and there his great obsession was born. He was a conservationist before anyone understood the idea of ecology. He's played major parts in the founding of the Nature Conservancy Council, the World Wildlife Fund and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] 

Favourite track: Symphony No 6 In F Major Op 68 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: The Phenomenon of Man by Pierre Teilhard De Chardin
Luxury: Binoculars

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Letter from America by Alistair Cooke

Alistair Cooke’s weekly talks on American life, history and politics from 1946 – 2004.

Alistair Cooke’s weekly talks on American life, history and politics, as broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from 1946 – 2004.

Alistair Cooke’s weekly talks on American life, history and politics. Over 900 programmes, as broadcast from 1946 – 2004.

Letter from America by Alistair Cooke: Online America

Online America

BBC Radio 4 - Letter from America by Alistair Cooke, Online America

Does a reliance on computers mean the return of the Luddites?

The dangers of an online America, the importance of considering a sentence before committing it to paper, and the possible return of the Luddites are considered by Alistair Cooke.

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