It only took a short bit of investigation to determine that Tales of The Gun appeared to be quite the series, and I was interested in checking it out. I had the choice of which DVD to review, so I picked Tales of The Gun - Infamous Guns. I thought that if there was going to be an anti gun bias in the series, this would be the DVD most likely to exhibit that bias.
From the History Channel site:
There are guns that have earned a place in history for their innovations--breakthrough weapons that advanced the science of firearms. There are others, however, that secured fame through their use--the guns that have killed presidents, started wars and starred in legendary showdowns in frontier towns.First, I have to say that I really enjoyed this documentary. I sat with my youngest daughter to watch it, and we both learned a few things.
INFAMOUS GUNS is a dramatic look at the guns that fired bullets that changed the course of history...
The DVD is in color and B&W, it runs for approximately 50 minutes.
From the opening:
The gun has played a critical role in history. An invention which has been praised and demonized, served hero and villain alike, and carries with is moral responsibility. Tun understand the gun is to better understand history.The documentary goes into some detail of how a Browning Model 1900 was used in the incident that let to World War I, and covers the actual Deringer that was used to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, and some of the unintended consequences of that assassination.
An 1881 British Bulldog and a .32 caliber Iver Johnson are just two of the firearms covered by this documentary that were used to change the face of a nation.
This presentation not only covered the firearms involved in history changing incidents, but some of the different ways that history was changed.
I was pleasantly surprised by this documentary and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the historical aspect of firearms.
2 comments:
I've had The History Channel via satellite for the past 10 years and think I've seen most of the episodes.
A recent money maker the NRA has been pushing is a re-packaging of the the Tales of the Gun programs on DVD with an NRA bumper stuck in front and an NRA wrapper for the DVD case.
One that recently arrived, though, isn't one I've seen on TV. "Advanced Personal Defense: Combat Focused Shooting" and it has the Valhalla name on it. I don't think the contents are History Channel material.
While I had considered my subscription to the NRA Video club to be an extra-expensive way of getting all the Tales of the Gun episodes this looks like it will expand my video library in ways that I wouldn't have known when I started accepting these.
Tales of the Gun itself is an informative and not really politically bent set of documentaries. You'll see a lot of the names you've been reading all these years. Gary James and Phil Spangenberger come to mind.
You'll also see actors and re-enactors wearing what look to be period correct costumes firing the historic guns (or working replicas).
The shows are usually pretty good.
From the mail box:
"J.R.--- Tales of the Gun is a great series of all kinds of weapons used in history, all over the world. I recommend this show to everyone and you will be surprised of the knowledge you will receive from the series. This show has never shown any anti-gun messages that I am aware of, and I believe I've seen all of the shows.
I always look forward to seeing Tales of the Gun on the History Chanel.
Stay safe,"
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