A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Episode Ten: The Weight of Memory (March 1973-Onward) Written by: Geoffrey C. Ward Directed by: Ken Burns & Lynn Novick While the Watergate scandal rivets Americans' attention and forces President Nixon to resign, the Vietnamese continue to savage one another in a brutal civil war. When hundreds of thousands of North Vietnamese troops pour into the South, Saigon descends rapidly into chaos and collapses. For the next forty years, Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for healing and reconciliation.  On September 28, 2017, "The Weight of Memory (March 1973-Onward)" premiered on the 300 or so affiliates of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Written by historian Geoffrey C. Ward and directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, it was the tenth and final episode of The Vietnam War, an 18-hour-long examination of "one of the most consequential, divisive, and controversial events in American history." Ten years in the making,  The Vietnam ...

(C) 2014 Random House Audio, Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL), and The Walt Disney Company. Illustrations by Nicolas Delort The year 2017 marks the 40th (Ruby) Anniversary of the theatrical debut of writer-director George Lucas's space-fantasy film Star Wars, aka Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope. In honor of the occasion, many of the storied franchise's licensees have released enough 40th Anniversary merchandise to fill a Star Destroyer's cargo hold.  As a result, Marvel Comics, Del Rey Books, and even smaller publishers like Quirk Books have published new Star Wars books, including Star Wars: Thrawn, Star Wars: From A Certain Point of View, and the long-awaited William Shakespeare's The Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh, the latter two being published in October.  The Force Awakens gets the Ian Doescher treatment in   William Shakespeare's The Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh (C) 2017 Quirk Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  Random Hou...

Episode Nine: A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973) Written by: Geoffrey C. Ward Directed by: Ken Burns & Lynn Novick South Vietnamese forces fighting on their own in Laos suffer a terrible defeat. Massive U.S. airpower makes the difference in halting an unprecedented North Vietnamese offensive. After being re-elected in a landslide, Nixon announces Hanoi has agreed to a peace deal. American prisoners of war will finally come home - to a bitterly divided country. - from The Vietnam War 's Episode List On September 27, 2017, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) aired "A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973), the ninth episode of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's The Vietnam War. Produced by Burns, Novick, and Sarah Botstein, this 10-part documentary series is an attempt to explain, as best as possible, one of the most tragic and controversial events in American history. A decade in the making, The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn...

Episode Eight: The History of the World (April 1969-May 1970) Written by: Geoffrey C. Ward Directed by: Ken Burns & Lynn Novick With morale plunging in Vietnam, President Nixon begins withdrawing American troops. As news breaks of an unthinkable massacre committed by American soldiers, the public debates the rectitude of the war. An incursion into Cambodia reignites antiwar protests with tragic consequences. - from The Vietnam War 's Episode List On September 26, 2017,   PBS premiered "The History of the World (April 1969-May 1970),” Episode Eight of  The Vietnam War,  a 10-part documentary series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick ( The War, Prohibition ). Produced by Burns, Novick, and Sarah Botstein, this 18-hour exploration of one of the most divisive events in modern American history was 10 years in the making. It features interviews of participants from all sides, including civilians and veterans from North and South Vietnam. (Hence the serie...