Ken Burns

"A treasury of American Presidents by historian Ken Burns"-- Provided by publisher.

An extraordinarily vivid and personal portrait of America's greatest political family and its enormous impact on our nation--the tie-in volume to the PBS documentary to air in the fall of 2014.

Spurred by a personal tragedy, America's foremost documentarian is tackling cancer. Ken Burns examines cancer with a cellular biologist₂s precision, a historian's perspective, and a biographer's passion. The series artfully weaves three different films in one: a riveting historical documentary; an engrossing and intimate verite film; and a scientific and investigative report.

A poignant film by Ken Burns portrays 200 years of Shaker life in America, guided by recollections of three surviving members and archival material. Explore every aspect of a strange, noble sect that produced some of the greatest architecture and furniture in U.S. history. This story of devotion, invention, ingenuity, simple crafts, and dance was filmed at existing Shaker locations, with music re-created from authentic songs.

Murder brings Theodore Roosevelt to the presidency, but in the seven years that follow, he transforms the office and makes himself perhaps the best-loved of all the men who ever lived in the White House - battling corporate greed and building the Panama Canal, preserving American wilderness, carrying the message of American might around the world. FDR courts and weds Eleanor Roosevelt, the shy orphaned daughter of Theodore's alcoholic brother, Elliott....

FDR brings the same optimism and energy to the White House that his cousin Theodore displayed. Aimed at ending the Depression, his sweeping New Deal restores the people's self-confidence and transforms the relationship between them and their government. Eleanor rejects the traditional role of first lady, becomes her husband's liberal conscience and a sometimes controversial political force in her own right. As the decade ends, FDR faces two grave...

From Ken Burns, producer of THE CIVIL WAR, comes the story of radio's creation of radio and three men of genius, vision, and determination: Lee De Forest, a clergyman's flamboyant son; Edwin Howard Armstrong, a brilliant, withdrawn inventor; and David Sarnoff, a hard-driving Russian immigrant who created the world's most powerful communications company. This film evokes the lives of three men whose work profoundly transformed modern America.

In 1851, word spread of California's beautiful Yosemite Valley, attracting visitors who wished to exploit the land for commercial gain as well as those who wished to keep it pristine. This episode relates how a Scottish-born wanderer named John Muir made protecting this land a spiritual calling. In 1864, Congress passed an act that protects Yosemite from commercial development - the first time in history that any government put forth such an idea....

This episode of American Stories by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns presents the history of one of our greatest icons. For over a century, she has stood on Liberty Island, a gift from France created by sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi. Torch eternally aloft, Lady Liberty has been the symbol of hope for generations of immigrants. Interviews with ordinary Americans reveal the statue's great significance. Nominated for an Oscar and an Emmy, this documentary...