Simon Schama's The American Future - A History (2-DVD)

The buildup to the 2008 U.S. presidential election provides the backdrop for this BBC documentary that finds America at a crossroads. The Iraq War, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Enron scandal have tested the way Americans see themselves--and how the world sees them. Historian Simon Schama hosts this perceptive program that looks to the important events and defining figures of America's past, along with the everyday people of its present, to help divine it's possible future.

Included here are all four parts of the series, each of which examine the country's most pressing issues: "What is an American'" which looks at immigration; "American War," about the role of U.S. military power; "American Fervour," which examines the country's religious traditions; and "American Plenty," a look its culture of optimism and abundance.