Seldon's Blog

"A FAMILY SCANDAL IN THE 'NORTH AND SOUTH' TRILOGY"

I love John Jakes' "NORTH AND SOUTH" Trilogy. Honestly, I do. I love it so much that I have copies of the novels published between 1982 and 1987 that make up the trilogy. I love it so much that I have also copies of the television adaptations (1985-1986; 1994) of the novels, produced by Wolper Productions. Unfortunately, the trilogy has a few narrative problems. And I feel that one of its biggest problems centered around a particular painting. ( Read more... )

Below is Part Five to my article about Hollywood's depiction about the westward migration via wagon trains in 19th century United States. It focuses upon "Manifest Destiny", the second episode of the 2005 television miniseries, "INTO THE WEST":( Read more... )

TIME MACHINE: SHERMAN'S MARCH TO THE SEA - PART ONE

November 15 marked the 150th anniversary of the beginning of Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's military march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. Following the Union Army's successful end of the Atlanta Campaign two months earlier, Sherman and Union Army commander Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant decided that the only way to put an end to the Civil War was to end the Confederacy's strategic, economic and psychological capacity for warfare. ( Read more... )

Below is a list of my favorite novels set during the Antebellum Era - namely the decades between the War of 1812 and the Civil War: ( Read more... )

"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I" (1985) - EPISODE TWO "1844-1848" Commentary

Unlike Episode One, the second episode of the 1985 miniseries, "NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I" covered a slightly longer time span. This episode focused on George Hazard and Orry Main's personal and professional lives for a period of three years and five (or six) months - between the fall of 1844 and the early winter of 1848. This episode not only covered their last two years at the West Point Academy, but also their military experiences during the Mexican-American War. ( Read more... )

With the recent release of Steven Spielberg's new movie, "LINCOLN" and the upcoming release of Quentin Tarrantino's latest film, "DJANGO UNCHAINED", I found myself thinking about movies I have seen about slavery - especially slavery practiced in the United States. Below is a list of my favorite movies on the subject in chronological order: ( Read more... )

Below are images from "NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I", the 1985 television adaptation of John Jakes' 1982 novel. Directed by Richard T. Heffron, the six-part miniseries starred James Read and Patrick Swayze:( Read more... )