Celebrates the "greatest generation" of Americans, from the Great Depression to the Bataan Death March and beyond, in a series of biographical profiles that chronicle the experiences of ordinary Americans who became caught up in historic twentieth-century events.

With World War II raging and his father fighting overseas in Europe, eleven-year-old Hobie Hanson is determined to do his part to help his family and his country, even if it means giving up his beloved German shepherd, Duke. Hoping to help end the war and bring his dad home faster, Hobie decides to donate Duke to Dogs for Defense, an organization that urges Americans to "loan" their pets to the military to act as sentries, mine sniffers, and patrol...

In January 1942, twelve-year-old Colton is on his family's fishing boat in the Atlantic with his older brother Danny when the boat is capsized by a Nazi U-boat, and Danny is severely injured; realizing how close the enemy is, Colton takes his brother's enlistment papers and joins the Navy, determined to do his part to defeat Germany--if only he can keep his age a secret and survive life at sea.

When Nick Nardini enlists in the Marine Corps' new paratrooper combat unit at the start of World War II, he has to talk his best friend, Zachary Klecko, into joining him in what he sees as an adventure--but from boot camp on it is clear that Zach is much more serious about the war than Nick is, at least until they are assigned to one of the POW recovery teams on the Japanese mainland.

An exploration of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal that discusses the arts, finance, labor, legislation, its influence on the Great Depression, and other related topics.

Collects letters sent to the author in response to "The Greatest Generation," his tribute to the generation of Americans who fought in World War II and came home to build a new America during the post-war era.

"The Great Depression uprooted many people's lives. Learn about racist policies that made the depression worse for Black Americans, the period's global impact, and lasting changes from the era"--

Ken Burns documents the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, when a frenzied wheat boom on the southern Plains, followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s, nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation. Vivid interviews, dramatic photographs, and seldom-seen movie footage bring to life incredible stories of human suffering and perseverance. Includes bonus features.

Explains the factors that led to the Great Depression, describing the social conditions of children during that time period and the movies and other forms of entertainment that helped distract people until the recovery of the late 1930s.

"'Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes...' Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave. It's 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic....