Author(s): Jon Sopel

Politics

As the BBC's North America Editor, Jon Sopel has experienced "The Greatest Country on Earth" from a perspective that most could only dream of: he has travelled aboard Air Force One, interviewed President Obama and seen first-hand the gaudy splendour of Donald Trump's billion-dollar empire. Jon has also witnessed the darker side of the United States today. He was on the ground in Ferguson, Missouri as the riots took hold; he has visited gun shows, where lethal weapons are exhibited and sold like DIY tools; and he has listened to would-be-presidents turn TV evangelists, as they place their judgements in the hands of a god in whom they believe unquestioningly. What Jon has discovered, is that for all we think we know the USA, it is - now more than ever - a truly foreign land. If Only They Didn't Speak English is a fascinating, insightful, portrait of American life and politics seen through British eyes. With the combination of Jon's political expertise (as a BBC correspondent of more than 20 years) and his own stories from on the ground, it sets out to answer our questions about a country that once stood for the grandest of dreams but which is now mired in a storm of political extremism, racial division, and increasingly perverse beliefs.