This is an excellent series. From it I learned so much about 'where we came from' that I never learned in school in the 60's - and you can bet a lot less than that is being taught in schools today. First let me say that while at least one reviewer frantically objected to some of the modern-day figures who commented on the historical events, and I am not totally crazy about some of their comments, they are but a very small part of this miniseries.From it I actually learned how this country came from a handful of Pilgrims and what their lives were like, to becoming the United States. I learned about people who have long been forgotten and should not be, who endured hardships and gave up their lives that we might live in freedom.Typically we hear in school or historical references just a sentence or two about this or that battle, this or that person. This miniseries brings them to life, tells the how and the when and the where and the why. I doubt that 1/10 of 1% of Americans know even a tiny fraction of where this country came from. "America: The Story of Us" should be required viewing. While one viewer was very upset by comments made by some of the modern-day people which are interspersed here and there, those can all be taken with a grain of salt. The story itself and the historical accounts are superb and gave me an entirely new appreciation for how and why this country came to be, and it is excellent viewing. Watch it with your kids - believe me, they can use this education.

I can agree with other reviews that the narrator not pronouncing Antietam right is annoying. And the narrator is listed as Liev Schreiber, but it doesn't sound like Liev Schreiber to me, since I've since a lot of his films, but I guess it is. It's odd his voice doesn't sound like I am used to hearing it. Was it altered in some way?But other things people don't like, like comparing textile machine technology to computers was actually shown to me at our local (not defunct) computer museum. I saw a large chip that was actually handwoven. So that I don't mind, because it does come from a factual source.The graphics can get too CSI or Sci-Fi Channel at times, but are OK. They can be a bit violent, as to make people with children a bit uneasy in viewing them, since they are intense. One of my other complains was that the interview parts seemed to only copy VH1 style shows, where people comment without it meaning anything deep. Like you could take Brian Williams' comments about America being full of integrity and hard work and apply it to any of the stories here. I mean, fine, have college professors and history authors talk about this, why why Sheryl Crow and Donald Trump? Their comments seem out of place a lot of the time, like they were recorded for another show and lopped into this one.But besides all that, I think it is an OK show. OK, being C average. I heard that in America, the most successful people got Cs in school...so it's probably fitting. Not horrible, but not outstanding. Just Joe Average. 70%.If one person gets at least a vague US history time line from this show, someone who normally doesn't watch the History Channel...I feel then the show has done its job. If the CSI graphics draw a younger crowd, like people who liked the movie 300, then good. They probably learned something. And yes, maybe it does make some historical items seem more important than they should or jumps to an assumption here and there, but it's decent to watch and entertaining as a whole. I know so many people who know nothing about American History. Nothing. So if they leave at least knowing when the Civil War occurred, it's a great boon. One part of the show that I did enjoy was that it isn't all "We're #1!!!" like other American history shows are. The show points out how women, blacks and Native Americans were all treated like they had no rights or less than human. It shows how we basically got here and took over, fighting nature...which we probably should have done with such zest. It isn't sugarcoating anything. The stories presented in little vignettes containing a character or two, is a refreshing change from history shows that bombard the viewer with tons of information. I tend to retain more information from the vignette style, because it is more personal. It is more like hearing stories around the campfire. I am not a fact checker by any means either, but if something doesn't sound right to me, I would be compelled to look it up, which I haven't yet. I did like learning about people like Baron von Steuben, which though accused of being a homosexual, was still adopted into George Washington's army. I wonder if George Washington had a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. :) But to me, that proves the greatness of America, that the Revolutionary Army accepted all types of people, that in time, we can rise past the sexist, racist and homophobic parts of our society and make this country a true melting pot, where people can live freely and have true liberty in their life's decisions.Some of the graphics were OK too, I liked when the buildings built themselves. And some of the war graphics. I mean, they have to fill the video with something!

I love the history channel. I was expecting this to be one of the most interesting, informative shows they have offered but I have been left angry and disappointed in the series. I had seen several individual episodes but didn't really pay attention to what was being said, I thought it looked cool with all of the GCI animation and fast pacing so I wanted to see it again so I could really listen to what sounded like a huge number of interesting facts. Instead what I got was some twisted, revisionist nonsense that left me so angry I could barely speak.For the writers to claim that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was the same type of surprise attack the American Revolutionaries used to defeat the British Army is such a disgraceful insult that I can not even comment on it. Every event in our history that is documented in the show is followed up with some statistic that is skewed to prove the creators agenda or a cheap shot aimed at corporations or the rich.The only value I could see this show having is that when you watch it with your children you get some great starting points for real discussion and further research. I don't consider myself to be any kind of right wing nut but if this nonsense was being taught in a local school I would have real concerns.I will give high marks to Liev Schreibers exceptional narration.

I teach history for a living, so I wanted to watch America: The story of us to see if it would be a classroom resource worth buying. I watched 5 hours in and I simply couldn't take it anymore. The people they signed up to comment on history are simply bizarre... Sheryl Crow? P Diddy? Michael Douglas? Just because you played the President in a movie doesn't mean you're qualified to tell us about history. It looks like they spent a lot of money on CGI but chose the strangest things to produce graphics of. If you like to see graphics of hulls cutting through water, this is your show. I realize they have limited time and it's hard to get everything in there but they spent 50 minutes on the seminal moment in United States history (the Civil War) and 20 of those minutes were on embalming, photography and battlefield medicine. Ulysses S. Grant was mentioned 1 time in an advertisement, zero times during the show. Poor segues, little cohesion and little real history here.