History's turning points: the Battle of Actium
If the battle of Actium had been won by Cleopatra and Antony, there would have been no Roman Empire. Yet Octavius Caesar's victory in 31 BC created an absolute dictatorship that sparked one of the greatest imperial and cultural expansions the world ...
History's turning points: the Great Wall of China
To seal off his empire from marauders, Qin Shi Huang commanded the building of the Great Wall. Three hundred thousand were employed, and thousands, especially the scholars, died and were buried within the wall. Called "the world's longest graveyard,...
History's turning points: the conquest of the Incas
Pizarro and his band of conquistadors conquered the Inca empire, beginning the Spanish domination of South America. But the plunder had only begun. The Spaniards' diseases wiped out 90% of the Incas. History's Turning Points is a thirteen part serie...
History's turning points: the siege of Constantinople
In 1204 crusaders sacked the city, then named Constantinople. For the next thousand years, the Byzantine Kings hid safely behind the massive walls of Constantinople. Then in 1453, with the Turkish Ottoman Empire encircling the city, Sultan Mehmed br...
History's turning points II: the television explosion
Television exploded into a business and in one generation revolutionized our lives. David Sarnoff, a poor Russian immigrant, was the first person to recognize the financial and commercial potential for television. He had championed the radio mania o...
History's turning points II: the incredible march
In this program, Mao turns defeat into victory and Chinese communism is born. Mao Tse-tung, the leader of China's Communist First Front Army, flees the forces of his arch enemy, the Nationalist leader Chiang Kai Shek. Mao and his one hundred thousa...
History's turning points II: the Battle of Britain
In this program, the RAF defeats the Luftwaffe and democracy is saved. Britain's fighter pilots take to the skies in the summer of 1940 in order to maintain control of the English Channel and stave off Hitler's planned invasion. When German bombers...
History's turning points II: the first flight
The Wright brothers reach for the clouds and world air travel becomes a reality. Orville and Wilbur Wright, two bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio are determined to prove that man can fly. After years of research, the two brothers eventually const...
History's turning points II: the battle for Vietnam
This program examines how Walter Cronkite and the media questioned a victory and how the war in Vietnam was lost. During the Tet truce for Chinese New Year, January 31st 1968, the Vietcong carried out a surprise attack on America's Embassy in Vietn...
History's turning points II: the plot to kill Hitler
The bomb explodes, but against all odds Europe's most hated dictator survives. In July 1944, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a trusted junior officer of the Nazi home army, entered Hitler's high security headquarters, the Wolf's Lair, intent to kill...