---
product_id: 52797919
title: "Simon Schama's The American Future: A History [DVD]"
brand: "simon schama"
price: "€ 45.19"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.com.cy/products/52797919-simon-schamas-the-american-future-a-history-dvd
store_origin: CY
region: Cyprus
---

# Simon Schama's The American Future: A History [DVD]

**Brand:** simon schama
**Price:** € 45.19
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Simon Schama's The American Future: A History [DVD] by simon schama
- **How much does it cost?** € 45.19 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.cy](https://www.desertcart.com.cy/products/52797919-simon-schamas-the-american-future-a-history-dvd)

## Best For

- simon schama enthusiasts

## Why This Product

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## Description

Simon Schama looks to the American past to explain the American present and future: the hopes, and agonies of a great national crisis in the tumultuous year of a Presidential election.In 2008, the people of the United States, beset by troubles, but firm in their faith in an American future, plunged into an intense examination of how they had arrived at this critical crossroads in their history; how their prosperity has run aground; and their pride of place in the world ended up questioned by so many around the globe. Historian Simon Schama who has spent half his life in the United States takes us on a journey through time and place to discover deep America; an America which in four critical issues - war, immigration, moral fervour and the difficult gap between expectations of plenty and the reality of limited resources -has arrived at a moment of truth. The drama of that moment powers four compelling films and brings to the screen an extraordinary company of Americans, past and present, famous and unknown, the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson alongside contemporary soldiers, pastors, and farmers. Through Schama&#x2019;s storytelling and breathtaking visuals, it&apos;s possible, for once, to feel yourself, not just on the surface of the American surface but deep inside its core. Watch these films and you can taste the real America, captured unforgettably at one of the great moments in its national destiny. Written and Presented by SIMON SCHAMA Producer/Director: SAM HOBKINSON & RICARDO POLLACK Series Producer: NICOLAS KENT Executive Producer for the BBC: EAMON HARDY Producer: SUSANNAH PRICE Associate Producer: MATTHEW HILL Series Assistant Producer: CHARLOTTE SACHER Production Manager: GLYNIS ROBERTSON Production Coordinator: HILARY GROVE Composer: ANDY COWTON Editors: JAN CHOLAWO, JOE CAREY, PAUL BINNS An Oxford Film and Television Production for BBC

## Images

![Simon Schama's The American Future: A History [DVD] - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/512fl0%2B-bJL.jpg)
![Simon Schama's The American Future: A History [DVD] - Image 2](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51zbZmn2mwL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Simon Schama - "What's changed?"
  

*by J***D on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 May 2016*

Simon Schama. Here is a man who comes across as more British than the British. Not in a negative way either. But how can a “Brit” comment meaningfully on the USA? Siman Schama does so with a touch of old world charm and class that is “outside the box”. His comments on the devastation of certain parts of the Midwest due to man’s greed to overproduce and the resulting dust storms, is told with great pathos and empathy. You can almost hear the tears in his voice. The demand for water throughout USA and the response of the nation to satisfy this basic need with projects like the Hoover Dam, comes across clearly, emphatically, and with great understanding.The series was made in 2008 and in some instances; particularly on the second of the two DVD’s, focuses on Obama’s campaign for the White house along with those of his Republican party opposition. Schama describes this brilliantly against a background of the historic migration of millions of people to the USA and the every present “immigration” problems into USA. Some 8 years later and in the light of subsequent developments one is inclined to ask, “What’s changed”?Schama himself is an American immigrant; a fact of which he is rightly proud and which he makes abundantly clear. Perhaps it is this very fact that makes the entire series so fascinating. “Schama the Charmer” he is sometimes called. It’s a ‘title’ he perhaps doesn’t appreciate. Nevertheless, this series is presented in a way typical of that which we expect from this highly educated and cultured historian. He tells things as he sees them. At times his remarks are cutting, particularly where he thinks that such criticism is deserved. But he is always charming in his presentation. An excellent series.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Very Good Series
  

*by B***D on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2011*

This series saw Historian Simon Schama travelling through America looking at conflicts and issues that have affected the nation in its history and how lessons can be learned to deal with similar issues now.The series was filmed in 2007 and so was set against the backdrop of the 2008 presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain.A very interesting series and beautiful cinematography make this a very watchable set of doumentaries.The episodes are as follows:Episode 1 - American Plenty:  Looking at America's dependence on its land and resources and how this is changing in the 21st century.Episode 2 - American War: A look at how different the US attitude to war is from what outsiders assume it to be.Episode 3 - American Fervour: How faith has shaped American political life and influenced pivotal hsitorical moments such as Civil Rights.Episode 4 - What is an American?: Looks into the bitter conflict over immigration in America.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Past and Present America Brought Alive
  

*by N***Y on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 November 2012*

Schama's excellent four-part series was filmed just prior to the 2008 presidential election. In the series he interwove concerns that were present in the presidential debates with episodes from the country's rich history. There are four hour-long episodes, in which Schama makes regular use of original source material to bolster his arguments.The first - `American Plenty' - explores the limits to American resources, with Schama arguing that the very concept of limits to the American dream being up till now anathema to the American psyche. But his is "a story of paradise lost" as he focuses on the issue of water supplies: "The land of plenty is running dry". He tells the story of John Wesley Powell and the Colorado River, ending up in Las Vegas where water has become a precious resource.`American War' is the title of the second programme, where Schama uses America's wars of the past to reflect on those then being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Schama visits Arlington Cemetery, West Point military academy, and the sight of the Battle of Gettysburg. He uses the example of Montgomery Meigs, President Lincoln's Quartermaster General during the American Civil War, to bring out the contradictions of American `imperialism'.In the USA "the great historical moment have always been acts of faith", states Schama in episode three, `American Fervour'. Here he skilfully combines the two different issues of faith and freedom into one by concentrating on the crucial early constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion. He then goes on to ask why religion has such a potent force in America (but fails to consider, to me, the obvious - a lack of a European-style welfare state). Schama also traces how religion in the States has gone from being a radical force for change to becoming a mark of conservatism.In the final instalment of the series, Schama simply asks `What Is an American?' Instead of focussing on the usual suspects - the Europeans and the black slaves (the latter's story partly covered in the previous episode) - he looks at the Chinese who entered California seeking the liberty and equality that American ostensibly promised. How the Chinese navvies made modern America but were horrifically treated for their trouble is little-known. There are also some home-truths about Americans being the illegal immigrants when Texas was Mexican.Throughout the series archive film and photographs are skilfully edited into contemporary scenes. The film is cleverly and often beautifully shot, with grey and brown autumnal scenes bathed by a rosy glow of a low-lying sun.This DVD set is reviewed in 2012, after President Obama has successfully achieved a second term in office. It's therefore `quaint' to look back on these programmes and witness the hype of Obama's original campaign. Oh how he has disappointed! So as well as this series being of much value to students of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American history, Schama's excellent films and insightful comments on the 2008 election will themselves be of value for future historians looking back on the early years of twenty-first century America.The only extra is a photo gallery.

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*Product available on Desertcart Cyprus*
*Store origin: CY*
*Last updated: 2026-03-16*