Ken Burns
oh my goodness! how could I have not already appreciated Ken Burns? I have told you I love history. I love history from books. like Shelby Foote writes, or A. L. Rowse, or even Edward Gibbon. dear god, Gibbon! I had almost forgotten the hours I spent in the library reading Gibbon when I should have been focused on physics or poetry! Arnold Toynbee. okay, okay, I have demonstrated that I like historians, but along comes Ken Burns with a whole new way to present history, as a television story! what an idea! and he made it work! oh man did he make it work! what part of American History has he missed? oh probably some. but just look at his titles in alphabetical order: America, American Lives, Baseball, Central Park Five, Civil War, Dust Bowl, Jazz, Lewis & Clark, National Parks, Prohibition, The Roosevelts, The War, The West. lord have mercy! each narrated more or less dispassionately, letting the facts bring out the story, but taking us also into the lore that gave context to the events. what a fun way to see history! what a wonderful perspective Ken Burns gives us! thank you, Ken Burns. (from a fan)
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