The War - A Film By Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

There is something special about the generation of World War II. This series does a fantastic job of covering the war and lives of those effected by it (both serving and at home). This series also tackles the different racial issues that existed as well. World War II was so intense that, of course, this series could not address every feeling, moment, event... but I believe this has a very balanced approach. Watching the DVDs gave me an even greater respect for knowledge about this time era and the men and women who served in every form. I highly recomend this to those who love World War II, those want to know more about the time era, and to those who desire to know more behind the war than what is taught in high school history classes. Hats off to Ken Burns for a job well done.

Another Ken Burns documentary, and God help me, I really do love them. But I think The War is his least realized. The topic is really too broad to make the kind of assertions he wants to make. The Studs Terkel influenced "Enlisted men Good...Officers Bad" mentality or the judging of the past from the limited perspective of the present. It is definitely a "Howard Zinn" social history, which makes it a very narrow history. To Ken's credit, the vast majority of the coverage of WW II is pretty varnished stuff, so it doesn't hurt us to be reminded that all was not completely well at home or abroad regarding the comportment of the Allied nations. But what I came away with was not a "grayer" vision of the War, which was what I think he intended. What I came away with was a terrifying realization that if we are ever called to fight another war with stakes as high as those of WW II, we will not win. We will not win because of journalism like Ken Burns'. We will not win because we will never be allowed to take our eyes off our own navels long enough to see a greater evil, and shoot it.

Thanks for the reminder, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to review. This was a gift for my kid brother, and it came in plenty of time for me to wrap it, even though I waited too long to order it. It looked great and I have heard no complaints from the sibling, so must assume that it works well, too! I'd be glad to shop with this newcomer again.

Ken Burns has done it again with his absolutely stunning documentary on WWII. To see this war throught the eyes of some of the combatants is well worth the length of this series. Done in chronological order it makes the war more understandable.

The War, by Ken Burns, is probably the most comprehensive and accurate documentary of World War II that I have seen. Mr. Burns should be congratulated for his excellent work, which shows the facts and does not sugar coat it for the Axis powers because of "political correctness." This documentary should be shown to all high schoold students in the nation so that we never forget the lessons learned (but which many in the country now seem to be forgetting). I believe Ken Burns is a true patriot.