The Roosevelts--An Intimate History!--A Review (Part 1)

No other American family has touched so many lives.--The Roosevelts

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History by Ken Burns has 7 parts, that aired on 7 nights on PBS.

1-Get Action (1858-1901)
2-In the Arena (1901-1910)
3-The Fire of Life (1910-1919)
4-The Storm (1920-1933)
5-The Rising Road (1933-1939)
6-The Common Cause (1939-1944)
7-A Strong and Active Faith (1944-1962)

--I am going to be doing a review on each episode.  I love Ken Burn's documentaries.  My favorite, before this one, was The Civil War.

--The narrator is Peter Coyote.  He narrates a lot of history documentaries.  I love his voice.

Historians:

-Clay Jenkinson
-George F. Will
-David McCullough
-Jon Meacham
-Geoffrey C. Ward
-Doris Kearns Goodwin
-Jonathan Alter
-Edna Gurewitsch
-William Leuchtenburg
-H.W. Brands
-Patricia O'Toole

--I am a huge fan of David McCullough and have read his book on Teddy Roosevelt, so it was great to see that he was a part of this documentary.

--I was excited when I found out that Burns was going to do a documentary on the Roosevelts.  The reason being that I love Teddy Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.  While I'm not a huge fan of Franklin Roosevelt, he was a major historical figure.

Episode 1-Get Action (1858-1901)

Between Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt, they would occupy the White House for 19 of the first 45 years of the 20th century.--The Roosevelts

My Notes:
--Teddy's father was such a philanthropist that he was nicknamed, Great Heart.

--Geoffrey C. Ward described Teddy (as an adult), like a six year old child on steroids and like the Tasmanian Devil.

--Teddy was devastated when he lost his Mother and his wife, Alice on the same day, February 14, 1884.  On that day he wrote in his journal, "The light has gone out of my life."

--Franklin Roosevelt was the only child of his Mother and was adored by all.  FDR was doted on to the point where he saw his rightful position as being the center of the world.

--As I watched this first episode, I was not disappointed.  This is another stellar production by Ken Burns.  I look forward to watching the next episode.