The Men Who Built America [DVD]

“The Men Who Built America” is generally a very good set of miniseries videos. Essentially, it tells an integrated story of how, after the ruins of the Civil War, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Ford (with a little help from Henry Frick, Jim Fisk, Jay Gould, Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla, the original Charles Schwab, William Jennings Bryan, Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, and Teddy Roosevelt, et al.) built modern America into the world’s greatest economic and technological superpower. Added to the story reenactments are comments from historians H. W. Brands, David Nasaw, Maury Klein., Steven Watts, and Jill Jonnes. In addition, historical “color” frosting comes from such celebrity business people as Mark Cuban, Alan Greenspan, Steve Case, T. Boone Pickens, Carly Fiorina, Jerry Weintraub, Steve Wynn, Richard Parsons, Jack Welch, Donny Deutsch, Ron Perelman, Jim Cramer, and Donald Trump. The ability with 20/20 hindsight to mull over the 2012 strategic insight comments of this second group as to where their reputations have since gone is almost worth the watch, in and of itself! The series segments are as follows: Disc 1 (A New War Beings. Oil Strike. A Rivalry is Born.) Disc 2 (Blood is Spilled. A New Rival Emerges. Owning It All.) Disc 3 (Taking the White House. The New Machine.) Bonus Footage (not seen on TV): From Rich to Richer. The American Dream. Monopoly. Competitive Nature. The Every Man. The Rise of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Traits of a Titan. Carnegie. If “The Men Who Build America” has a problem, it is that it is essentially the collection of programs within the TV miniseries. This means about 20% of the material is back-grounding, stage-setting reintroduction of a previous program’s happenings. All of this makes sense when a program is presented on TV maybe a week after the previous program. However, even lightly retreading old ground soon becomes a bit annoying when watching the programs back to back on a DVD. Bottom-line, I really enjoyed learning about these historical figures in a way that showed their interplay and how each one affected, reacted to, and built upon the success of others, with illuminating sketches of individual character and business strategy. From my own experience in reading about these business titans, this integrated approach is relatively unique and helps put into better perspective how America was built. Highly recommended! Of possible interest: George Washington’s Liberty Key: Mount Vernon’s Bastille Key – the Mystery and Magic of Its Body, Mind, and Soul , a best-seller at Mount Vernon. “Character is Key for Liberty!” and Strategy Pure and Simple: Essential Moves for Winning in Competition and Cooperation

This series of videos was very entertaining and fun to watch. I and my family learned a lot about early american history that we did not know, especially concerning the men involved with this story. It was fun to see how the destiny of these men was intertwined. My only complaint about the DVD series is that it would have been better if they had taken a little extra time to blend together each section without the commercial recap of what had already occurred. Every 8-10 minutes, there is a 2 minute recap of what had previously occurred, presumably after coming back from the commercial break for the TV series. This is not necessary when you have been watching the DVD series from the beginning. I would assume this could have fairly easily been edited out for the DVD, but wasn't. They also filmed some time period scenes from the late 1800's that were shown repeatedly throughout the series. After watching the first 5-6 episodes, some of these scenes can "get old", but this does not detract from the enjoyment of the series. I would have also liked to seen more on Henry Ford. The focus of this series was basically how his life and early start to Ford was affected by the things that Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and Morgan did, but not much focus on how Ford revolutionized the production line. The segment on Ford seemed a little rushed to end the series on time. Definitely worth the purchase. Also, the main title theme "Save My Soul" is very addictive!

Fantastic! I am not one to watch TV, but I sat through all 3 DVD's in this set in two nights. If you think everything was better in the good ol' days of America, this would be a reality check! Biographies include Andrew Carnegie (U.S. Steel), J.P. Morgan (Morgan Chase), Vanderbilt (Railroads), John D. Rockefeller (Standard Oil, now Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, etc) and Henry Ford. Carnegie's treatment of the steeworkers was absolutely riveting! (please excuse my lame attempt at humor here). Some details may have been watered down, such as the shootings at or by the striking steelworkers, and all the reasons behind Ford's entering his new car into a successful race with the top racer in the nation. The grandiosity of these men in history, and their egotistical competitiveness with each other despite having more money than Bill Gates and Warren Buffet combined in today's dollars, shows the extent to which human nature can covet. How much money is enough? In the words of Rockefeller, "Just a little more!" I always thought he was being witty, but after seeing this fascinating documentary, now I'm not so sure.

Shipped quickly. Arrived three days BEFORE the expected arrival date. THANK YOU! ***MANY DVD retailers on here take longer than ANY other type of merchandise to ship and the parcels are Frequently delivered LATE. That was NOT the case with this transaction. The DVD is a great way to teach kids about how this Country grew rapidly through the Industrial Revolution. It's interesting, presented well, the scenes (sets and costumes) are period correct, and the actors portrayed the Titans extremely well. I'd seen this series on the History Channel several times, but wanted it to share with my Grandchildren. I think it's well worth the price.

A great video on how Rockefeller, Carnage, Chase took over power from the citizens of the United States.

Good quality ! Thank you !

Esta es una de esas series que no puedes dejar de ver hasta el final. Un relato histórico de una época en que todo valía para conquistar el liderazgo en la industria con comentarios muy interesantes de líderes de negocios de hoy.

US版の歴史番組ですが、ハリウッド映画のような映像でとても良かったです！US版なので英語のみで日本語字幕はありません。今話題の人物も出演しています。

This History Channel documentary deals with the key individuals who single-handedly built the key pillars of Industrial America - steel, railroads, oil, finance & ultimately the motor car. Prior to their rise, America which was recovering from the devastating effects of Civil War, within 30 years of unbridled capitalism, was converted into a worldwide power house & incipient super power. In spite of their reputations as the poster children of uncaring capitalism, the motto should read "honour to whom honour is due". Not to be held in thrall but rather as an acknowledgement of their achievements while recognizing their frailties. This quintet comprised Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, JP Morgan & Ford. Their signature trait was an intense focus The former three each had a hardscrabble, hobbled upbringing but all shared the same traits of being larger-than-life individuals who all triumphed against the odds. Their driven personalities resulted in their defining opponents not as rivals but as enemies, enemies to be destroyed by whichever way possible; anything but murder. This series catalogues their rise & the methods that they used to gain the ascendancy. Essentially each man developed a different industry often from scratch & often only against great odds did they succeed. Each in their own way could have failed spectacularly but each due to perseverance & some luck overcame the odds & succeeded. Where the negative perceptions about them arose related to their future actions where they strove through fair means or foul to take over their competitors & become monopolies. In Carnegie's case, he went one further. In his desire to become the richest man in America, he knew that he had to reduce his labour cost. Not wanting to be personally involved in the consequences of that action, he appointed a Chairman & went of holiday in Scotland. After driving the men too hard in their 12 hour day, they revolted. A strike ensued. The Chairmen refused to negotiate & instead hired some prairie guns to remove the strikers. The result was six deaths. Carnegie's decision came to haunt him. He quickly returned to America to assume control of the situation but the dye was cast. Political opinion was turned adverse. Now the Titans were playing for different stakes. The seminal moment in their ultimate downfall was their decision to convince the Republican candidate to appoint Roosevelt, an ardent opponent of naked, unfettered capitalism as McKinley's deputy. Their logic, which could not be faulted, was that a Deputy President had no power & would "wither on the vine." McKinley's assassination derailed their cunning plan. By the end of his second term Roosevelt had largely broken up the Trusts & splintered the monopolies into a slew of independent companies. Ford belatedly entered the scene not as a rapacious capitalist but as a humanist. By paying his workers $5 a day instead of the going rate which was half of that, he ensured that he had a contented workforce but also a workforce able to purchase their own output, the horseless carriage. This almost 7 hour documentary throws the well-deserved spotlight on a little known aspect of American life. A superior production by the History Channel recounts the saga of these larger-than-life characters. It is well-worth watching.

This is an outstanding documentary about American history. It explains not only one of the most important periods of American history but it explains why today the US is what it is. The period which is described in this TV documentary has shaped the face and soul of modern America and by that of the whole world since then. Many political decisions of today cannot be understood, if one does not have the knowledge of that period, a time during which the basis of modern America was "built". The content is very compressed, but absolutely sufficient for a regular adult with high-school historical background. Strongly recommended for anyone with interest in our political and historical environment.