LAND OF THE EAGLE (FF)(DVD)(2-PK)

TBA • NR • Series • Catalog pick

Land of the Eagle (BBC Atlas of the NW: WH & A) (Dbl DVD)]]> Amazon.com An extraordinary documentary that encourages a fresh look at the history of America's settlement, the four-part BBC Atlas of the Natural World: Land of the Eagle begins with a reminder that North America was once considered nothing more than an obstacle to Europe's trade routes. Eventually, the potential profitability of the New World attracted 16th century exploration and settlers. (The best-known settlement, Jamestown, was actually the second, the program tells us. The first settlement, Roanoke, disappeared, its vulnerable inhabitants vanished.) There were people in North America for 10,000 years before Spain, France, and England began carving out territory. Europe's systematic dismantling and destruction of the American continent's diverse environment, animal life, and Native nations happened in a number of ways, Land of the Eagle tells us. White traders paid Indians for hundreds of thousands of beaver pelts, otter skins, and deer hide. Those creatures dwindled in numbers, leaving huge gaps in delicately-balanced eco-systems. By the 19th century, railroad companies were laying down tracks across the great American prairie and desert, towns were sprouting everywhere, farmers were tearing up topsoil and leaving dust, and the U.S. government was paying buffalo killers to rid the land of millions of the magnificent beasts. The pristine world seen by Lewis and Clark on their westward travels is largely gone. Land of the Eagle leaves one with a great sense of loss, but it also spends a great deal of time focusing on the natural order of North Amercia, with truly remarkable footage of grizzlies, wolves, alligators, eagles, and scores of other species doing what they were designed to do. Melancholy but beautiful, this is must-see viewing for anyone interested in history and nature. --Tom Keogh