Investigates the daily lives of Native American peoples from different regions, distinguishes the differences between Woodland Native Americans and Desert Native Americans, as well as shows many artifacts and cultural elements of such tribes.

In the first half of the 19th century, Americans pushed westward across the Appalachians, the Mississippi River, and the Rocky Mountains, en route to the Pacific Ocean. The frontier experience shaped the American character. At the same time, land hunger, gold fever, and the pursuit of “Manifest Destiny” resulted in the removal of many American Indian nations, acquisition of vast swaths of Mexico through the Mexican-American War, and a painful...

The Battle of the Alamo has become the stuff of legend – when 200 brave Texan fighters took a stand against a Mexican force of thousands. But there’s more to the story than meets the eye.

The Rocky Mountains were "like the stairs of heaven after the last soul has ascended earth," said Fitz Hugh Ludlow. Said Sitting Bull of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, "Our young men rained lead across the river and drove the white braves back. This is the time of the Civil War in the East, the last of the Indian Wars, the final spike in the transcontinental railroad. Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt paint a mythical Eden, while pioneer photographers...

In The Good Lord Bird, writer James McBride offers a retelling of the history surrounding abolitionist John Brown and his failed raid at Harpers Ferry. Jeffrey Brown talks to McBride, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for fiction, about what drew him to the topic and what makes it "ripe" for a humorous rewriting.

Explains the events surrounding the Louisiana Purchase, through which President Jefferson acquired enough land to make the United States one of the largest nations in the world.

Featuring striking visuals, cutting-edge computer animation, and feature-quality historic reenactments, this film places viewers in the center of the dramatic conflict that inspired the national anthem of the United States, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” From the fierce battle, where American soldiers fought with valor to protect their homes and families, to the dire moments when Francis Scott Key famously looked through his spyglass, straining to...

Publisher Annotation: A sweeping and lively history of one of the most dramatic stories never told-of the greatest railroad war of all time, fought by the daring leaders of the Santa Fe and the Rio Grande to seize, control, and create the American West. 352pp., 100K

Out of Ireland is a documentary about Irish emigration to America, from the famine-swept villages of 19th century Ireland to the industrialized cities of 20th century America. It is told through the lives and letters of eight immigrants andfeatures the voices of Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Gabriel Byrne and more.