24 Sep The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
(2014) This PBS six part series is a fascinating history of the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, the best known members of the most influential family of the 20th century. It was directed and produced by Ken Burns, also famous for The War (2007) which I have watched, read and listened to several times. I must also give credit to Geoffrey Ward who co-wrote The War script and wrote this one about the Roosevelt family.
Narrated by Peter Coyote whose voice you will instantly recognize. Meryl Streep is the voice of Eleanor Roosevelt, and Edward Herrman the voice of Franklin Roosevelt. These are only three of the many well known voices you will hear.
For five more days you can watch the entire series on PBS. After that, you’ll have to buy the DVD. It will be well worth it.
So far I’m half way through the 3rd episode.
Episode #1: Get Action (1858-1901) … The 1st episode begins with the birth of Theodore Roosevelt and takes us up to 1901 when he was elected President of the United States. Theodore’s older brother was an alcoholic who died young and left a daughter named Eleanor. Theodore used action to combat his demons, the worst of which occurred the one day that both his mother and his adored first wife died. How do you recover from something like that? Theodore became a cowboy in North Dakota.
Episode #2: In The Arena (1901–1910) … The 2nd episode covers Theodore’s Presidency. Known as “T.R.” he ushered in the 20th century and accomplished so much. In an attempt to help the common man, he filed suit against more than 40 trusts, to ensure that “the rich man is held to the same accountability as the poor man.” He paved the way for construction of the Panama Canal. He was the first American ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating a peace agreement between Russia and Japan. He was the first president to invite a black man, Booker T. Washington, to dine in the White House. Unfortunately there was so much protest that although he remained friends with Booker T., he never again invited him to dinner. There was much more …
Franklin and Eleanor marry, even though his mother (and she was the most important woman in his life) never gave her full approval to the match.
Episode #3: The Fire of Life (1910-1919) I’ll add notes after I finish this and the rest of the episodes.
I have read so many books about Franklin and Eleanor … FDR, Franklin & Lucy, No Ordinary Time, Franklin and Winston to name a few. With its vintage videos, photographs along with the very words the characters spoke, this PBS series is giving a significant historical timeline of the first half of the 20th century.
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History at amazon.com
tammyCA
Posted at 15:10h, 10 NovemberThis was a great series…watched it all and now I finally understand the Roosevelts.