Ultimate Guide to the Presidents

More Presidential policies and politics than biography
When I was asked to review this new DVD series from the History Channel I thought it would be a collection of biographies of the men that have held the office of President of the United States since George Washington assumed the office on April 30, 1789. Although, it began with George Washington and worked its way through each successive office holder, it quickly became clear to me that the focus of this new 2013 production was directed toward each man's presidential politics and how the policies of each administration ultimately shaped the role of government in its citizens lives and in the world community of nations.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate the difference in this new production is to compare it to an earlier award-winning series produced in 2005 for the History Channel entitled simply "The Presidents" since they appear to cover the same material.

Of course both series start with George Washington. The 2005 documentary begins by telling us...

Getting to know America's Chief Executives
"The Ultimate Guide to the Presidents" is a three-disc DVD collection chronicling the American Presidency over the past 200 years. Offering unusual stories, this eight-episode History Channel series provides a fresh perspective on the 44 men who have served as Commander-in-Chief, from George Washington to Barack Obama. It concentrates on the ebbs and flows of presidential power and responsibilities as each of America's leaders deals with the events, expectations, and challenges of his time.

One of the most interesting revelations is that the Founding Fathers originally regarded the office of President as administrative, merely to rubber-stamp legislation passed by Congress. Washington didn't want the job, but when he finally accepted it, he made the office more powerful than envisioned, setting a number of precedents, including appointing a Cabinet.

The best aspect of the series is the way the various presidents are personalized. We get to see how each...

Good series on the US presidents
This DVD is a collection of eight 45 minute episodes (plus some bonus material) that details the major events and decisions of every president from George Washington to Ronald Reagan. It rather hurriedly covers the four presidents since 1989 constantly going back and forth. I wish the program had spent more time on each of them individually.

Nonetheless, this series is better than the one in 2005 (The Presidents) in that it covers major developments in American society such as the building of railroads, population growth and household innovations as well as changes to the White House and its staff.

Highly recommended!

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