Ken Burns's America / Gary R. Edgerton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Edgerton, Gary R. (Gary Richard), 1952-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Burns, Ken, 1953---Criticism and interpretation.

Burns, Ken.

Burns, Ken, 1953-.

Criticism and interpretation.

Physical Description:

x, 268 pages, 10 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Palgrave for St. Martin's Press, 2001.

Summary:

More than 150 million Americans have seen Ken Burns' documentaries on the Civil War, baseball, and jazz. With their signature blending of images and interviews, Burns' series have redefined documentary television -- and no one, before or since, has made history so popular. Gary R. Edgerton takes the full measure of Burns' accomplishments -- with an inside look at the workings of Burns' Florentine Films production company, a genealogy of Burns' style and sources, and a critical account of Burns the historian -- and explores how his powerful programs define (and misdirect) our sense of past and present. Ken Burns' America is essential reading for history buffs and viewers of Burns' immensely popular television documentaries.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Rebirth of a Nation: Reframing The Civil War (1990) on Prime-Time Television 1

Chapter 2 Life Lessons: Learning the Basics on Brooklyn Bridge (1982) 27

Chapter 3 Variations on a Theme: American Originals, Symbols, and Institutions 51

Chapter 4 The Creative Team as Historian: Inside the Production Process on Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1992) 85

Chapter 5 A Whole New Ball Game: Baseball (1994) and The West (1996) as Event TV 109

Chapter 6 American Lives: Thomas Jefferson (1997) and the Television Biography as Popular History 151

Chapter 7 Ken Burns's America Reconsidered: Mainstreaming Jazz (2001) for a National Audience 181.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [253]-261) and indexes.

Videography: [249]-252.

ISBN:

0312236468

OCLC:

46386118