In defense of the documentary as an art form

When I was in high school, I got into a documentary for the first time in my life. The first documentary that I got into was Ken Burns’ “The Civil War” (shown on PBS). It would be the first of many for me. Since then, I have watched hundreds of documentaries (if not more), in a search for the special kind of storytelling that only a documentary can really offer. But what is it that documentaries provide? What advantages do they have over books? What advantages do they have over Hollywood movies? And how can they hold their own against other art forms that undertake to tell stories?

A review of Ken Burns’ “Baseball” (PBS)

“♪ Katie Casey was baseball mad,
Had the fever and had it bad.
Just to root for the home town crew,
Ev'ry sou
Katie blew. ♪

♪ On a Saturday her young beau
Called to see if she'd like to go
To see a show, but Miss Kate said 'No,
I'll tell you what you can do:' ♪ ”

– The unknown first verse of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” (1908)

When Ken Burns' “The Civil War” came out in 1990, it was the most popular program in PBS history; and it still holds that record today. This program received significant critical acclaim, and it certainly deserved this acclaim. But when Ken Burns was asked what he was going to do next, he was met with raised eyebrows when he said “baseball.” For many people, baseball seems like something less than a “serious” historical topic; and probably seemed like a waste of Ken Burns' talent to boot. But to me, this is no “anticlimax” – this is a legitimate historical topic in its own right. You can learn a lot about the history of America by studying the history of its baseball, I think – at least, for the periods after baseball was invented. I will return to this theme multiple times in this post, as I give some related anecdotes from baseball history. Suffice it to say for now that it gives some great insights into this country; and that if you really want to understand America, you would do well to study this game in detail.

National League Baltimore Orioles, 1896

Christy Mathewson, known as “The Christian Gentleman”

A review of “Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire” (History Channel)

Note: This is a different series from “Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire” (which is made by the BBC).

There aren't too many documentaries out there about ancient history …

If you've ever looked online for movies about ancient history, you've probably had a hard time finding any. Ancient history isn't a popular subject for Hollywood movies (or even documentaries), and so very few programs about it have ever been made. I don't know why this has been the case, but I can probably make some guesses about it. If you make a documentary about World War II (a modern topic), you have access to actual archival footage from the period. You can get it at very low cost, and advertise its benefits to your viewers. Some of them will even prefer the gritty realism of the actual footage to re-enactments, which are just educated guesses (albeit good ones, if they're done right). Thus, you can sometimes get more effectiveness for less money, which is a real advantage in the world of documentaries. But if you depict the distant past, you are usually forced to rely on re-enactments, and the cost of these re-enactments can be steep. Consequently, many of these ancient history documentaries are never made in the first place.

This documentary is primarily a military history

An ancient history topic must thus be fairly popular before a for-profit network like the History Channel will decide to throw significant money at it. No matter how much the producers of these networks might like these topics, they usually can't justify the budget for these programs unless they think that they have a reasonable chance of recovering these expenses with some added cash flow. One presumes that the Roman Empire was considered popular enough to justify these budgets to investors at this time. If it had not been, after all, it's safe to assume that this series would never have been made. I imagine part of its appeal to the general public was its focus on military history (rather than other kinds of history). Military history has long been a popular topic with certain segments of the general population (perhaps especially the male population); and although political history is sometimes covered here, the primary focus of this series is military history. This may be the most comprehensive military history of Rome ever made for television. It has some weaknesses (which I will note later), but it's still a fine series despite these.

Relief scene of Roman legionaries marching, from the Column of Marcus Aurelius – Rome, Italy, 2nd century AD

A review of David Starkey's “Monarchy” (U. K.)

"God save our gracious King!
Long live our noble King!
God save the King!

Send him victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save the King!"

- "God Save The King" (alternatively, "God Save The Queen"), adopted as the national anthem of the United Kingdom in 1745

Throughout the English-speaking world, people are fascinated by the British monarchy. Although the institution has very little power today, Americans still follow its every move, as though we had never fought a revolution against it. Despite all of this interest, there has sometimes been a trend in recent years - amongst historians, at least - to try and focus on what happened to "ordinary people" in history, and focus less on the traditional subjects of "politics and the military." For example, Ken Burns once said that the history of the United States is usually told as "a series of presidential administrations punctuated by wars," and that all other aspects of American history - including those dealing with ordinary people - are given short shrift, or even lost entirely. There is truth in this claim, and there is value in focusing on the lives of ordinary people - and on other celebrities from other areas. Why, then, do we focus so much on powerful political leaders? Why do we continue to be fascinated by the lives of kings and queens, when the "common man" is held up as the "greater ideal" for an enlightened democracy?

Queen Victoria

Why do we sometimes ignore the "ordinary people" of history?

I think part of it might be that the lives of ordinary people are usually not as well-documented as the lives of the rich and powerful. Thus, a dig by archaeologists that unearths details of an ordinary person's life doesn't get as much fame and sexiness as those that unearth details of a major monarch's life. For example, most people would rather hear more about Julius Caesar and his generals, than about the ordinary men and women that made up the empire he ruled. The same is true of American presidents and generals. But besides the fact that the lives of ordinary people are not as well-documented, there is another reason that historians focus so much on politics and the military (including monarchy). This is that the lives of ordinary people are affected quite extensively by what genius - or moron - is in power at the moment. For the history of most countries of the world, this necessarily entails a thorough examination of kings, queens, and royal families - on the monarchs and dynasties who are in charge at any given time. These kings are not just studied because historians are fans of royalty and juicy court gossip, although there is plenty of that. Rather, it is because the history of entire countries depends on these things, and on the "royal soap operas" that are so often found at the center of power.

Queen Elizabeth the First

A review of Alistair Cooke's “America: A Personal History of the United States”

" ... these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved ... "

- The American Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)

The British writer George Bernard Shaw is supposed to have once told a joke about the relationship between Britain and America. "The United States and Great Britain," he said, "are two countries separated by a common language." We argue about how to spell words and how to pronounce them, I think, and the "common ground" between us can sometimes be a battleground. All kidding aside, though, there is something special about the relationship between our two countries; and our shared English language could just be the most obvious manifestation of this extreme closeness. In ways that we sometimes take for granted, I think, we understand each other's humor and share each other's values. Our love of democracy and liberty, furthermore, is a characteristic that is somewhat rare in the world; and though it is found abundantly in both countries, it is not often found elsewhere to the same degree.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt meets with Winston Churchill aboard the HMS Prince of Wales - Atlantic Charter, 1941

The divide between the Americans and the British

Our culture is much the same, I think, and our view of the world is identical in many ways. But there are some differences between us that cause us both to misunderstand each other at times. It is somewhat unfortunate that my fellow Americans, for example, sometimes see the British as stuffy and unemotional (perhaps even snobbish), while the British sometimes see Americans as unsophisticated rubes who can be impetuous (and even obnoxious). I suspect that these differences have their origins in the fact that our histories diverged somewhat after the American Revolution, when the colonies declared that "all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved" (in the words of our Declaration of Independence). Thus, we have some significant differences between us, it is true; but these differences are not insurmountable. Thus, the BBC made this series about the history of America in 1973. This series was hosted by the famed journalist Alistair Cooke. This series attempted to explain us Americans - and I am an American, as you may have guessed - to our valued brethren in Britain. Thus, it helped to bridge the occasional gap of misunderstanding that sometimes pops up between us. (Although the misunderstandings are still pretty minimal even without this, and we are still a common family that gets along well most of the time.)

Alistair Cooke, the series presenter

A review of Ken Burns’ “Jazz” (PBS series)

"Jazz is the assassination, the murdering, the slaying of syncopation. I would even go so far as to confess that we are musical anarchists."

- Nick La Rocca, leader of the first jazz band to make a record

An opinion from a longtime fan and (amateur) musician ...

I should preface this review by saying that I am a longtime fan of jazz music, as well as a longtime fan of both history and the Ken Burns documentaries about it. I freely acknowledge that I am not an expert on music history (jazz or otherwise), and do not consider myself to be a true musician - much as I would like to call myself by this distinguished title. I have played piano for a long time, it is true, and I have played jazz (and other styles) by ear. But I am neither a professional musician nor particularly talented in my performance, and consider myself only an enthusiastic fan with a sometime musical hobby. That being said, I am entitled to my opinion about it as much as anyone else, and so offer this review to any who might enjoy it.

A review of Andrew Marr’s “Modern Britain” series (1901-2007)

I should preface this review with an up-front disclaimer, which is that I am not a citizen of Britain. I am an American citizen who has never been to the British Isles, and my ancestors haven't lived in Britain for more than a hundred years. Although I do have ancestors from various parts of the British Isles, who emigrated to the United States over a period of centuries (with some branches arriving at one time, and some branches at another). Thus, I have often felt rather British in my heritage; and this feeling is shared by many Americans of all ethnic origins, because of the cultural similarity between our two countries. (And I'm not just talking about our speaking the same language, although that does help. As George Bernard Shaw once joked, we are two countries "separated by a common language.")

Winston Churchill

A review of “The Great War” (1964 BBC series)

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields."

- "In Flanders Fields" (1915), by Canadian veteran John McCrae

The first series about World War One to interview the veterans

The fiftieth anniversary of the "Great War" - a.k.a. "World War One" - saw two great television documentaries being made to commemorate it. One was made by the Americans, and the other was made by three British Commonwealth nations (Britain, Canada, and Australia), working together to make this series. In virtually every way, the one made by the British Commonwealth nations is better, although there are a few areas where the American-made series distinguishes itself. Thus, I will intersperse some commentary on this as well, in a post primarily focused on the British-made series.

"The Great War" DVD (made by British Commonwealth countries)

"World War One" DVD (made by American CBS)

A review of CNN's “The Cold War”

"He who ignores the lessons of history is doomed to repeat it."

- George Santayana

Soviets' first atomic bomb test, 1949

It was a war that lasted forty years, which had many periods without any shooting at all. It was fought between two nuclear states, whose nuclear weapons were never fired against the other even once. And it was called the "Cold War" because of its periods without shooting, but had many "hot wars" within its complicated history, where shots were actually exchanged between the two sides.

Battle of Seoul, 1950 (during Korean War)

How is the war remembered today? (Depends on where you live, and when you lived ... )

There are many alive today who remember the Cold War, but there are also many who don't. Even many of those who lived through it fail to comprehend its true nature. Many in the communist countries only saw their government's version of things, and were forbidden to hear anything else. Many in the capitalist countries were deceived by their own side's pacifists and communist sympathizers, who could never see the deterrence capabilities of nuclear weapons (or military power generally). Many of them had their heads in the sand about both the failures of communism, and its threat to the free world's way of life.

Interviews with eyewitnesses from all over the world

Many fail to learn the lessons of these times, but the lessons are there, for those who care to hear them. Moreover, they can be obtained even from liberal stations like CNN. From the makers of "The World at War" came the classic series about the Cold War, which spent 18 hours explaining both the complicated politics and geography of the Cold War, and showing interviews with the top personnel in the governments and military of both sides. (From the regular soldiers, airmen, civilians, and diplomatic personnel to the generals, admirals, presidents, prime ministers, and communist dictators; you hear from virtually every major player alive when the series was made. You also see the real footage of the events, with a narration to help make sense out of the complicated events of this time.

A review of Simon Schama’s “A History of Britain”

"That the two Kingdoms of England and Scotland shall upon the First day of May which shall be in the year One thousand seven hundred and seven and for ever after be united into one Kingdom by the name of Great Britain ... "

- "Union with Scotland Act of 1706," Article I (passed by the Parliament of England, and later made official by the "Union with England Act of 1707," passed by the Parliament of Scotland)

I should preface this review, for my international readers, by saying that I am an American; but an American of mostly British descent, whose ancestors come mainly from England and Scotland. (England and Scotland today are both part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.) I identify strongly with Britain; not only because of my ancestry, but because Britons and Americans share common values such as freedom and democracy; and because we have been allies in war and peace for over two centuries; not fighting a war against each other since 1815 (the year the War of 1812 ended). Thus, I am much interested in the history of Great Britain, and thought I'd learn a little bit more about it by watching this series.

A review of Ken Burns’ “The Civil War” (PBS series)

"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still must it be said that 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.' "

- Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1865)

It was the bloodiest war in American history, with more American dead than World War II. It was a war that both sides thought would last ninety days, but which ended up dragging on for nearly four years. And it was a war that freed four million Americans from bondage, and brought some sweeping changes to American society.

Confederate dead at Antietam

A review of Kenneth Clark's “Civilisation”

"Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts: the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others. But of the three, the only trustworthy one is the last."

- John Ruskin, a 19th-century art critic

Disclaimer: I know virtually nothing about the visual arts ...

So I recently finished watching Kenneth Clark's "Civilisation" (spelled the British way), a documentary series about the history of Western art. Before I begin my review of it, I should give a disclaimer that I know virtually nothing about visual art. I have never taken an art class, nor a photography class, nor an art history class. I play a little piano and do a little writing, so I have some experience with non-visual arts after a fashion; but I know next to nothing about the more visual arts. I don't even particularly like looking at most art, lacking an appreciation for it. In my adulthood, I found out the reason why: I have, quite simply, very little visual intelligence. When taking tests of my intelligence, I scored in the medium range for math and in somewhat higher ranges for language - scores which corresponded to my later scores on the GRE's. But I tested in the bottom 1 percent of the population for visual-spatial intelligence. This would explain why I've never been that interested in scenery, or why I didn't like my geometry class in high school - I am just not a visual person.

... but I am a history buff, which is what attracted me to this series

I am, however, a history buff; which is what attracted me to this series. I thought I'd shore up this intellectual weakness of mine by learning about art history, which is an excellent prism for talking about the history of mankind generally. Kenneth Clark opens this series with an interesting quote from John Ruskin, the 19th-century art critic, who said: "Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts: the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others. But of the three, the only trustworthy one is the last." This may be overstating the case a little bit - I often find words a trustworthy way of understanding people, and deeds even moreso. (In the admittedly cliché words of an old saying: "Actions speak louder than words.") But nonetheless, you can find out a lot about a people by studying their art. It tells you a lot about their values, their ideas, and their culture; and art history is thus an excellent way to gain insight into a people.

Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," from the sixteenth century

A review of “The World at War” (World War Two series)

"This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin Nevile Henderson handed the German Government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock, that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, that a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country [Great Britain] is at war with Germany."

- British prime minister Neville Chamberlain, in a speech given from the Cabinet room at 10, Downing Street on 3 September 1939

World War II is a subject that continues to fascinate millions throughout the world. From people in the losing countries to people in the winning ones, everyone seems to be fascinated by World War II. Because of this, there continue to be media of all kinds about the subject, and a viewer interested in it has many options to choose from. Indeed, there almost seems to be a choice overload (a nice problem to have), and it's hard to know which ones are the best.

D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach - Normandy, 1944

This documentary depicts stories from all over the world, on both sides of the conflict

"Best" is a subjective term, and what is best in the eyes of one may not be best for another. But if asked my opinion on which documentary is the best, my vote would go to "The World at War," the classic British documentary from the 1970s. From the British and Americans to their reluctant Soviet allies, to the Axis powers of Germany and Japan, stories from all over the world are told, and woven together into a fascinating narrative about the events of World War II.

My favorite history documentaries

Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate marketer, and can sometimes make money when you buy the product using the link(s) below.

Ancient history

Egypt's Golden Empire (PBS Empires) - 2 ½ hours

Michael Wood's In Search of the Trojan War (BBC) - 6 hours

The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization (PBS Empires) - 2 ½ hours

Bettany Hughes' The Spartans (shown on PBS) - 3 hours

Bettany Hughes' Athens: The Dawn of Democracy (shown on PBS) - 2 hours

Michael Wood's In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great (BBC) - 4 hours

Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire (History Channel) - 10 hours

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (BBC, requires code-free DVD player) - 6 hours

The Roman Empire in the First Century (PBS Empires) - 3 ½ hours

The Germanic Tribes (German-made) - 4 hours

Art history

Great Epochs of European Art: Art of the Ancient Greeks & Romans (German-made) - 2 hours

The Dark Ages: An Age of Light (BBC) - 4 hours

Kenneth Clark's Civilisation (BBC) - 11 hours

The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (PBS Empires) - 4 hours

Michael Wood's Art of the Western World - 9 hours

Civilizations (BBC, shown on PBS) - 9 hours


Religious history

The Buddha: The Story of Siddhartha (PBS) - 2 hours

Kingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites (PBS Empires) - 4 hours

Simon Schama's The Story of the Jews (shown on PBS) - 5 hours

Jerusalem: Center of the World (PBS) - 2 hours

How the Celts Saved Britain (BBC) - 2 hours

Ancient Roads from Christ to Constantine (shown on PBS) - 5 ½ hours

The Life of Muhammad (BBC, shown on PBS) - 3 hours

Islam: Empire of Faith (PBS Empires) - 3 hours

Martin Luther (PBS Empires) - 2 hours

David Starkey's Henry VIII: Mind of a Tyrant (requires code-free DVD player) - 3 hours

David Starkey's The Six Wives of Henry VIII - 3 hours


The Middle Ages

Byzantium: The Lost Empire (The Learning Channel) - 3 ½ hours

The Dark Ages (History Channel) - 1 ½ hours

Michael Wood's In Search of the Dark Ages (BBC, requires code-free DVD player) - 6 hours

Vikings: The Real Warriors (BBC) - 3 hours

The Normans (BBC, requires code-free DVD player) - 3 hours

The Normans: The Complete Epic Saga (privately made) - 3 hours

The Crusades (BBC) - 3 hours

The Crusades: Crescent and the Cross (History Channel) - 3 hours

The Plague (History Channel) - 1 ½ hours (often available as bonus feature for The Dark Ages)

The Plantagenets (BBC, requires code-free DVD player) - 3 hours

Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty: The Plantagenets (British-made) - 4 hours

Britain's Bloody Crown (British-made) - 3 hours

The Wars of the Roses: A Bloody Crown (British-made) - 2 hours

The Stuarts & The Stuarts in Exile (BBC, this part is technically post-Middle-Ages, requires code-free DVD player) - 5 hours


History of the British Isles generally

Simon Schama's A History of Britain (BBC, with American financing) - 15 hours

David Starkey's Monarchy (U. K.) (British-made) - 17 hours

Michael Wood's Story of England (BBC) - 6 hours

Frank Delaney's The Celts (BBC) - 6 hours

Neil Oliver's A History of Scotland (BBC Scotland) - 10 hours

Huw Edwards' The Story of Wales (BBC Wales) - 6 hours

Fergal Keane's The Story of Ireland (BBC Northern Ireland) - 5 hours

Andrew Marr's Modern Britain 1901-2007 (BBC - requires code-free DVD player) - 10 hours


World history

Alistair Cooke's America: A Personal History of the United States (BBC, requires code-free DVD player) - 10 hours

Canada: A People's History (CBC and Société de Radio-Canada) - 32 hours

Australia: The Story of Us (Australian-made - requires code-free DVD player) - 6 hours

Africa's Great Civilizations (PBS) - 6 hours

Michael Wood's The Story of India (BBC) - 6 hours

Michael Wood's The Story of China (BBC) - 6 hours

Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire (PBS Empires) - 2 ½ hours


History of the English language

Melvyn Bragg's The Adventure of English (British-made) - 6 hours


Famous reigning queens

David Starkey's Elizabeth (Elizabeth the First, British-made) - 3 hours

Catherine the Great (PBS) - 2 hours

Queen Victoria's Empire (PBS Empires) - 3 ½ hours


Early Latin America

In Search of History: The Aztec Empire (History Channel) - 1 hour

Breaking the Maya Code (PBS) - 2 hours

Michael Wood's Conquistadors (BBC, shown on PBS) - 4 hours


Colonial America

Secrets of the Dead: Jamestown's Dark Winter (PBS) - 1 hour

The Pilgrims (PBS) - 2 hours

The Seven Years' War

The War That Made America (PBS) - 4 hours


The American Revolution (my main posts and my other posts)

Overviews of the war

Liberty! The American Revolution (PBS) - 6 hours

History Channel's "The Revolution" - 10 hours

Rebels & Redcoats: How Britain Lost America - 4 hours

American Revolution biographies

Muffie Meyer's Benjamin Franklin (PBS) - 3 hours

Ken Burns' Benjamin Franklin (PBS) - 4 hours

George Washington the Warrior (History Channel) - 1 ½ hours

Marquis de Lafayette: The Lost Hero (PBS) - 1 hour

Alexander Hamilton (PBS) - 2 hours

Founding Fathers (History Channel) - 3 hours

Founding Brothers (History Channel) - 3 hours

John and Abigail Adams (PBS) - 2 hours

Ken Burns' Thomas Jefferson (PBS) - 3 hours


Frontier exploration

Ken Burns' Lewis and Clark (PBS) - 4 hours


The French Revolution/Napoleonic Era

Versailles (French documentary, with episode about King Louis XVI - requires code-free DVD player) - 9 hours

David Grubin's Marie Antoinette (PBS) - 2 hours

The French Revolution (History Channel) - 1 ½ hours

David Grubin's Napoleon (PBS Empires) - 4 hours


The War of 1812 (North America)

The War of 1812 (PBS) - 2 hours - available online

Dolley Madison (PBS) - 1 ½ hours

Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil, and the Presidency (PBS) - 2 hours - available on YouTube


The Mexican-American War

The U.S.-Mexican War 1846-1848 - 4 hours - available on YouTube - link to first half

The Gold Rush - 2 hours


The American Civil War (my main posts and my other posts)

The Abolitionists (PBS) - 3 hours

Ken Burns' The Civil War (overview by PBS) - 11 hours

Reconstruction: The Second Civil War (PBS) - 3 hours

Civil War biographies

Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided (PBS) - 6 hours

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (PBS) - 1 ½ hours

Jefferson Davis (privately made) - 3 ½ hours

Ulysses S. Grant (PBS) - 3 ½ hours


Various other topics

Michael Wood's In Search of Myths and Heroes - 4 hours

Ken Burns' The Congress (PBS) - 1 ½ hours

Modern Marvels: The Suez Canal (History Channel) - 1 hour

Transcontinental Railroad (PBS) - 2 hours

Ken Burns' Not for Ourselves Alone; Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony (PBS) - 3 hours

Murder of a President: James A. Garfield (PBS) - 2 hours

Ken Burns' Mark Twain (PBS) - 3 ½ hours

New York Underground (PBS) - 1 hour

Ric Burns' New York: A Documentary History (PBS) - 17 hours

Crucible of Empire: the Spanish-American War (PBS) - 2 hours

The Boer War (British-made - requires code-free DVD player) - 1 ½ hours

TR: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt (PBS) - 3 ½ hours

Ken Burns' Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip (PBS) - 2 hours

Panama Canal (PBS) - 1 ½ hours

The Great San Francisco Earthquake (PBS) - 1 hour

War of the Worlds (PBS) - 1 hour

Ken Burns' Hemingway (PBS) - 6 hours


History of American business

The Men Who Built America (History Channel) - 6 hours

The Gilded Age (PBS) - 2 hours

The Circus (PBS) - 4 hours

Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People (PBS) - 1 ½ hours

Edison: The Father of Invention (PBS) - 2 hours

Tesla: Master of Lightning (PBS) - 1 ½ hours

Citizen Hearst (PBS) - 3 ½ hours

Ken Burns' Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (PBS) - 2 hours

Henry Ford (PBS) - 2 hours - available online

Walt Disney (PBS) - 4 hours

Silicon Valley (PBS) - 1 ½ hours


World War One

BBC's The Great War (interviews veterans) - 17 hours

CBS's World War One (the complete story) - 10 hours

PBS's The Great War (American Experience) - 6 hours

Biographies of major figures

Woodrow Wilson (PBS) - 3 hours

Coverage of particular portions of the war

The Storm That Swept Mexico (PBS) - 2 hours - available on YouTube

The Irish Rebellion 1916 (PBS) - 3 hours

Lawrence of Arabia: The Battle for the Arab World (PBS) - 2 hours

Influenza 1918 (PBS, American Experience) - 1 hour

Paris 1919: Inside the Peace Talks That Changed the World (Canadian-made) - 1 ½ hours


World War Two (my main posts and my other posts)

The Road to War (BBC) - 3 hours

War of the Century: When Hitler Fought Stalin (BBC) - 3 ½ hours

Allied powers

ANZAC: Australians at War in World War Two (Australian-made) - 10 hours

Canada at War (Canadian-made, World War Two) - 6 hours

Ken Burns' The War (PBS) - 15 hours (focuses on United States in World War Two)

BBC History of World War II - 30 hours (technically a collection of different World War II documentaries)

The World at War (British-made, World War Two) - 23 hours (an actual unified history, which talks about the major powers on both sides)

Axis powers

The Nazis: A Warning from History (BBC) - 5 hours

Horror in the East: Japan and the Atrocities of World War II (BBC) - 1 ½ hours

Auschwitz: The Nazis and the "Final Solution" (BBC) - 5 hours

Biographies of Allied leaders

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (PBS) - 4 hours - available online

Eleanor Roosevelt (PBS) - 2 ½ hours

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (PBS, Ken Burns) - 14 hours

Winston Churchill (British-made) - 3 hours

Harry Truman (PBS) - 4 hours - available online

Dwight D. Eisenhower (PBS) - 2 ½ hours


The Cold War (my main posts and my other posts)

The Cold War (CNN) - 18 hours

Korea: The Forgotten War (Timeless Media Group) - 5 hours

Ken Burns' The Vietnam War (PBS) - 18 ½ hours

Cold War political biographies (other)

John F. Kennedy (PBS) - 3 ½ hours

Robert F. Kennedy (PBS) - 2 hours

Lyndon B. Johnson (PBS) - 3 ½ hours - available online

Richard Nixon (PBS) - 2 ½ hours - available online


Ethnic history

Black in Latin America (PBS) - 4 hours

Native America (PBS) - 3 ½ hours

Asian Americans (PBS) - 5 hours

The Jewish Americans (PBS) - 6 hours

The Latino Americans (PBS) - 6 hours

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross (PBS) - 6 hours

Ken Burns' Jackie Robinson (PBS) - 4 hours

Ken Burns' Muhammad Ali (PBS) - 8 hours

The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela (PBS Frontline) - 2 hours

General American history in the 20th century

Ken Burns' Baseball (PBS miniseries) - 19 hours

Ken Burns' Jazz (PBS miniseries) - 19 hours

A review of "Canada: A People's History"

"It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the Advice of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, to declare by Proclamation that, on and after a Day therein appointed, not being more than Six Months after the passing of this Act, the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick shall form and be One Dominion under the Name of Canada; and on and after that Day those Three Provinces shall form and be One Dominion under that Name accordingly."

- Canada's "Constitution Act of 1867," also known as the "British North America Act 1867"

I would like to offer my American perspective to this 32-hour Canadian series. I hope Canadians will not mind. I got this series because I was interested in the history of America's northern neighbor. Canada is one of the United States' biggest trading partners, and being interested in doing trade with Canada, and able to speak both French and English, I thought it would be helpful to know something about Canadian history and culture.

This documentary did not disappoint. It was dramatic and interesting, and I learned much about Canadian history. Having read from many online comments that even Canadians learned something about their history by watching this series, I am struck by its informative and educational power. It is also very moving in places, with great acting, music, and narration. Those looking to learn something about the country will not be disappointed.

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, a major battle in the Seven Years' War - Quebec, 1759

(an important year in Canadian history, because it was the year that Canada became British)