.com Covering the entire 20th century in one video series is an ambitious project, but one that Peter Jennings and ABC News are up to. In The Century: America's Time, a 12-part documentary on six videotapes that is a companion to the book of the same name, Jennings guides us through a century of technology and advancement like no other. As he says in his introduction to episode 1, "Seeds of Change," "Unlike previous centuries where leadership was defined by royalty and other rulers, the 20th century more than any other was shaped by the will and actions of the common man." The series is a sweeping presentation of the United States of the 1900s and tries to encompass a mind-boggling amount of history. And while at moments the videos may leave you longing for more, Jennings does an excellent job of creating smooth segues between disparate pieces. The first episode, for instance, begins with the influx of immigrants at the turn of the century and touches on Jim Crow laws, moving pictures, planes, Henry Ford, the sinking of the USS Maine, child labor, suffragettes, the Panama Canal, imperialism, and more, right up to the beginning of World War I. The archival footage is stunning and interviews with historians, veterans, journalists, POWs, politicians, authors, celebrities, and common people help bring the past to life again. Mickey Spillane discusses the speakeasies of the 1920s; Dennis Hopper talks about Easy Rider in the '60s; Tom Wolfe reads from The Bonfire of the Vanities for the episode on the '80s. Eudora Welty, E.L. Doctorow, Martin Scorsese, John Updike, Pat Buchanan, Oliver Stone, Stephen E. Ambrose, among many others, lend their voices to this documentary. Yet, despite the great names, at times the pictures and people are allowed to speak for themselves, without intrusive narration--the stark images of the Challenger explosion or the sad words of a political activist mourning the death of his partner to AIDS are more powerful because of it. This chronological tale (with the exception of the last episode, "Then and Now," which is arranged thematically) is an insightful and poignant reminder of all the marvels--and tragedies--of America in the 20th century. --Jenny Brown
A**N
Great set, but......
Set came brand new as advertised. Was great watching all the videos, but one wasn’t working. I contacted the seller about it and see if he could replace it, but the set was his only copy so he gave me a refund instead which was nice. Overall, the seller made great service. Just bad luck that the set has one defective tape.
R**H
Video Survey of U.S. History, 20th Century
This video, The Century, America's Time, hosted by ABC's Peter Jennings, served me well as a U.S. History high school teacher. The reason I liked it so much was because it brought to life in short, 10 minute summaries, key events of the twentieth century. Hosted by Peter Jennings, it had a much more contemporary feel to it than similar historical summaries. The narration was snappier and held the attention of my students better than let's say a PBS or other History channel type visual documentary. It supplement's any Twentieth Century U.S. History course because it capture's the emotional context that a text-book cannot reveal. I found my students had a much better grasp of the times when I supplemented the text with these visual snapshots of key events during the century. Because key events are broken down into 10-20 minute segments, it lends itself to the attention span of classroom students and instruction very well. Most documentaries go on for 45 minutes straight on one topic. This was extremely well done. If I had only 1 video series to pick from to capture the flavor of the twentieth century, this is the one I would buy!
C**E
Just as good as it ever was!
Peter Jenning's Magnus Opus for his life. It's every bit as good 25 years after it first aired.Quick shipping, quality packaging and exactly as described. Very easy sale. I don't normally leave a pure 5 star rating - I leave that to the bots and the seller's relatives and friends, but this earns it every way, from the sale to the watching. Ten thumbs up.
W**E
Teacher's companion
Given students' proclivity toward visual input, "The Century: America's Time" makes for an ideal presentation of US history in the 20th century. As others have discussed, it is broken into bite-sized portions, digestible for the vast majority of young people (and adults, for that matter!). Peter Jennings' narration/hosting provides an essential credibility to the work, and the blending of chronology and themes assists in creating understanding. As there are a significant number of options available to educators, the challenge comes in finding something that is accessible to students and strong enough to meet essential historical standards. The selling point came for me when a highly-respected colleague recommended the series without hesitation. Whether you're a teacher, parent, or simply an interested individual, you cannot go wrong with The Century.
B**T
The Century--America's Time
"The Century America's Time" is a really well-done documentary that examines the different decades of the twentieth century as experienced by America. It includes interviews and lots of great photos and video footage of key events. The interviews are especially nice as they give the documentary that eye-witness perspective from people's memories. I bought this set specifically for the 1930's portion which I use in my tenth grade English class to give the kids a perspective on what was happening during that time period which is also the same time period that two novels we read are set in. Peter Jennings does a great job of narrating the videos. It's excellent.
V**N
I understood these to be DVDs - not VCRs and ...
I understood these to be DVDs - not VCRs and I have no use for the VCRs so I paid for something that i cannot use or view.Is there any way to return for credit ?
J**H
So glad to get this set
I tried recording this series when it was on tv but didn't get it all and also had to deal with commercials. So glad that I was able to get this boxed series - it is so fantastic - should be a must see by all who live in U.S. - going through the history from the late 1900's on is wonderful. The seller sent this in a timely manner and it was shipped with care.
R**D
I wish I could get this on DVD. I ...
I wish I could get this on DVD. I use it to show to my students for US History. I do have to skip some parts because I don't feel it appropriate for some ages, (such as what the Russians did when they invaded Berlin or the lynchings by the KKK).
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