Barack Obama, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENTS COLLECTION offers an unprecedented survey of all 44 U.S. commanders-in-chief. This comprehensive collection includes the legendary eight-part series The Presidents and the newly updated biography of Barack Obama, featuring footage of his historic 2008 presidential campaign. Featuring insightful interviews with friends and family members, as well as previously unreleased footage, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENTS COLLECTION is a comprehensive look at our nation s most powerful leaders.  (less)

Commanders in Chief who have guided America throughout its history--their powerful personalities, weaknesses, and major achievements or historical insignificance. Based on the book To the Best of My Ability, edited by Pulitzer Prize-winner James McPherson, THE PRESIDENTS features rare and unseen photographs and footage, unexpected insight and trivia from journalists, scholars, and politicians such as Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Wesley Clark, Bob Dole, and former President Jimmy Carter. Viewed within the changing contexts of each administration, the Presidency has never seemed more compelling and human. Narrated by Edward Herrmann (The Aviator), this three-DVD set is a proud addition to the award-winning documentary tradition of THE ...  (less)

studies, advances, and theories. A mix of historical footage, modern space imaging, and conceptual computer graphics presented in high-definition, the visual component of this production is absolutely breathtaking. Each of the 13 44-minute episodes begins with a general introduction of subjects ranging from the sun to individual planets, alien galaxies, the search for extra-terrestrial life, and scientific theories like the Big Bang. Each topic is then broken down into a series of segments that detail specific ideas, theories, or components integral to the understanding of the main topic as well as historical material, current studies and theories, and projections of potential future events and scientific advances. The 90-minute "Beyond the Big Bang...  (less)

with ten episodes, each more than 50 minutes long, there's very little that’s not covered--it’s likely that experts, fanatics, and obsessives will be well satisfied too. Using a combination of extensive computer-generated imagery (CGI), charts, graphics, statistics, file footage, photos, interviews with military men both past and present, and more, the program focuses on the Pacific Theater, where the United States and its allies battled Japan for the three and half years between Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the end of the war in August 1945. At the center of virtually every battle during that span was the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Launched in 1936, this Yorktown class vessel, also known as "a fighting city of steel" and "the ...  (less)

through the building of a new nation unlike any that had ever come before.From the roots of the rebellion and the signing of the Declaration of Independence to victory on the battlefield at Yorktown and the adoption of The United States Constitution THE REVOLUTION tells the remarkable story of this pivotal era in history. Venturing beyond the conventional list of generals and politicians THE HISTORY CHANNEL® introduces the full range of individuals who helped shape this great conflict including some of the war s most influential unsung heroes.Through sweeping cinematic recreations intimate biographical investigations and provocative political military and economic analysis the historic ideas and themes that transformed treasonous acts against...  (less)

there are no roads, except for about two months when the lakes freeze solid enough to allow the transport of literally tons of essential supplies to Canada's remote diamond mines as far as 350 miles away near the Arctic Circle. The goal is to deliver 10,000 loads in 60 days. The truckers call it the "dash for the cash." Fasten your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy ride. Ice Road Truckers is one of the most harrowing of the "dirty jobs" sub-genre of reality TV. This History Channel series mines a little extra drama by playing up the competition between the drivers to see who can make the most runs. The series' most compelling personality is Hugh, a 21-season veteran known as "the Polar Bear," who suffers what another driver cal...  (less)

grapples with the notion that our planet is 4.5 billion years old, or that the oceans were formed by rainfall that lasted literally millions of years, or that 700 million years ago, Earth was completely covered by ice that was a mile thick, with surface temperatures reaching minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other end of the scale are numbers that seem surprisingly small: for instance, it wasn't until 220 years ago that the accepted church doctrine regarding the planet's age (no more than 6000 years, according to the Bible) was seriously challenged and that the key to its past was found in rocks, not scripture, while the discovery that dinosaurs once ruled the Earth came considerably later than that. Using a combination of computer graphics and animation, variou...  (less)

orchestral score by Richard Rodgers, best known for his musicals with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. Produced with the full cooperation of the U.S. Navy, each 26-minute program consists of black-and-white wartime film set to a narration by Leonard Graves. The two years leading up to America's entry into the war are dismissed in episode one, while the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor gets a show of its own, the raid depicted in a brilliantly edited montage that almost certainly contains "docu-drama" footage. Each episode contains at least one powerful stand-alone sequence in the tradition of Serge Eisenstein ( Battleship Potemkin ), these action-suspense set-pieces giving the programs an urgent, surprisingly modern feel. Indeed, the emphasis is at least ...  (less)

came in wave after wave of invasion, slaughtering, stealing, and ultimately, settling. As chaos replaced culture, Europe was beset by famine, plague, persecutions, and a state of war that was so persistent it was only rarely interrupted by peace. THE DARK AGES profiles those who battled to shape the future, from the warlords whose armies threatened to case the demise of European society, like Alaric, Charles the Hammer, and Clovis; to the men and women who valiantly tended the flames of justice, knowledge, and innovation including Charlemagne, St. Benedict, Empress Theodora, and other brave souls who fought for peace and enlightenment. It was in the shadows of this turbulent millennium that the seeds of modern civilization were sown.  (less)

particular gods. But these gods also had human frailties. Where did the pantheon originate? Did any of the stories in Greek mythology actually occur? We look at new archaeological evidence that supports the possibility.  (less)

should, because although the events depicted in the History Channel's The Crusades - Crescent & The Cross took place nearly a thousand years ago, they are but a distant mirror to what's going on in the Middle East right now. This two-part, three-hour program impressively details all three Crusades, starting in the late 11th Century, when Pope Urban II dispatched a huge force to reclaim Jerusalem, which had been under Muslim control for some 400 years. For the knights and others who made the journey, it was a noble spiritual quest, not to mention an escape from Europe's petty wars and famines; in the end, the fact that many of them were greedy butchers who murdered Muslims, Jews, and even other Christians indiscriminately (sometimes...  (less)

War II documentaries, each packed with original archival footage, interviews with military experts and historians, and gripping reenactments. This essential 10 disc anthology of the greatest war of the 20th century includes: World War II: The War in Europe Eight documentaries survey the war s massive scope in Europe. World War II: The War in the Pacific Seven documentaries examine the impetus and aftermath of the battle in the Pacific. Biography ®: General Douglas MacArthur: Return of a Legend The great MacArthur helped win World War II with a simple promise: I shall return. Okinawa: The Final Battle Relive the final engagement of World War II, in which over 250,000 people joined in a desperate fight. Empires of Industry: War Planes of WWII Lear...  (less)