KEN BURNS' THE WEST

This twelve and a half hour documentary charting the history of The West from its discovery to 1914, four centuries in all. It was first broadcast on PBS in 1986 but is now available on a region 0 DVD. It's not cheap mind - my copy cost me £60 but it's worth every penny.

Using maps, old photographs, diaries and documents and many talking heads the documentary provides as extensive a history as one could desire.

The first episode starts off in 1526 when the Spanish were exploring the land and takes us up to 1806 and the end of the Lewis and Clarke expedition.

Episode two starts in the early 1800's and is titled, Empire upon the Trails and deals with the fight for the West with many nations laying claim to the massive sprawling landscape. Stunning photography proves what many of us have always known - that the American West offers the most beautiful vista known to man.

The third episode covers the period from 1848 and 1856 and centres largely on the early gold rush period when James Marshall reached down into the American River in California and came up with gold. This depicts the birth of San Francisco - from a sleepy village into an international city almost overnight.

Episode four covers 1856 to 1868 and is subtitled, War on the Horizon. This episodes is one of the most detailed studies of the Civil War I've ever seen. The causes, chiefly slavery are examined in great detail and some of the readings from letters sent home by troopers are truly heartbreaking and bring home perfectly the real cost of war.

Episode five shows the remarkable enterprise that was the railroads which stretched across the nation. Watching this makes you realise great a task it was with the builders blasting their way through mountains and redesigning the landscape. The human cost, particularly among the oriental section of the work force, was massive.

Episode 6 centres on the Indian wars and is subtitled, Fight no more forever which is a play on a statement Chief Joseph made. There is also much on Brigham Young and the Mormons in this episode.

Episode 7 covers 1877 to 1887, a decade when the West really was tamed and started to catch up with the cities back in the East in terms of modern life.

Episode 8 - one sky above us - and charts the transformation of the Old West into the new century.

There is also a bonus disc, not shown on television, entitled A Nation Rises.


The story of the west is the tale of a vast and mythic place in America and the turbulent history of those who had been drawn to it. This extensive documentary treats the subject with intelligence and has no time for myth-making. What you get here is the truth...or at least, as close as we're ever going to get.