America: The Story of the US

If you happened to fall asleep during any of your grade school history classes, then you might actually learn something from watching The History Channel's America: The Story of US. Otherwise, there's not much new to be gleaned from this series, which plays it pretty close to the script. It's a "pop history" of the United States, from the Jamestown colony all the way through to the new millennium, bolstered by CGI effects that allow viewers to stare straight down the barrel of a revolutionary war musket, witness firsthand the building of the Hoover Dam, or glimpse a time when thirty-million bison roamed the great plains. Through twelve episodes across three discs, most of the familiar areas, objects and people of US history are touched upon: The Revolutionary War, The Civil War, slavery, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Pearl Harbor, Native Americans, pilgrims - it's all here; well, almost. Somehow the series manages to skip over US involvement in an entire war, World War I. It's a glaring oversight in an otherwise thorough if typical series.

Familiar pundits and celebrities are called upon throughout the series to offer their knowledge and opinions on the various subjects pertaining to US history, including Tom Brokaw, Michael Douglas, Colin Powell, Bill Maher, Sheryl Crow, Newt Gingrich and the Reverend Al Sharpton, among others. Actor Liev Schreiber handles the narration duties well, with an engaging and steady voice that draws the viewer into even the most familiar of subjects.

From the narrator mispronouncing names like Powhatan and Antietam to repeating well-refuted legends such as buckets of blood and human flesh at the Donner Party campsite, I spotted one factual error after another in this series. The show even goes so far as to speculate that modern day computers are based on 19th century textile machine "technology" but states it as if it's fact. Add to that the annoying "shaky cam" effects during action scenes and flashing camera cuts and it all adds up to colossal disappointment which outweighs anything good the series might have to offer.

I was pleased to see some attention given to the presence and contributions of free blacks early in our nation's history. Native Americans were also presented in a more even-handed manner than I've seen in other historic shows. Some of the special effects, such as the computer simulations of the growth of cities, were well done. Other special effects done in the manner of "CSI" were unnecessary and seemed out of place.

The commentators were a mish-mash of celebrities and "experts" with only a handful of them adding any kind of useful or factual insights. Again, so much of the information was incorrect or slanted to support certain modern day perspectives that it was difficult to know what was credible and what wasn't which, in my humble opinion, makes this a pretty useless history show.

I've noticed a few negative reviews criticising the historical aspects, the omission of this or that history, the use of actors and so on. Even if some of those criticisms are valid, this series does what no other historical presentation has ever done.... and that is combine action packed theatrics with a glossy historical journey.

I'm from Australia, so am not as well versed in American history as Americans would be. I found this series fascinating, and richly detailed. The pace it moves is quite funny for a documentary. It is always on the go, music, drama, effects, re-enactments, factoids, scenic landscapes, and more.

I completely understand that this series doesn't cover all the history some people wanted it to. I know that American history runs deep, and this presentation is more of a surface rendering. I completely forgive it for this, because the result is still fascinating and there's much to discover.

I've watched this series once and currently watching it again, but just curious why some wars and some things were left out that were part of our history.

As a teacher, I am using the first two episodes to help fifth grade students understand and appreciate the challenges of the American Revolution. I will admit I have not watched beyond these episodes, but feel that at least the first two give an abbreviated but accurate window about the challenges of the American Revolution. I would have liked to see more about the French and Indian Wars, as well as the Stamp Act and Intolerable Acts, but there are few videos available that open the many topics of interest about the American Revolution without being COMPLETELY boring. This video, in my opinion, will interest students to research beyond what they have seen on screen. Sadly, the youth of today need a video to motivate them to learn more, so I feel this video series does a nice job of making the American Revolution interesting and accessible to young people.