List Price: $49.95You Pay Only: $27.99 You Save: $21.96 (44%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: A&E
EAN: 0733961768473
Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Label: A&E Home Video
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
Number Of Items: 4
Publisher: A&E Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: March 27, 2007
Running Time: 564 minutes
Sales Rank: 23203
Studio: A&E Home Video
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Editorial Review:
Description:
Hosted by Peter Weller, ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE examines the most magnificent and sophisticated civilizations in history through the lens of their astounding engineering feats. Walk through the narrow streets of ancient Greece and Carthage and follow the massive expansion of the Roman and Chinese Empires. Trace the rise of antiquity’s greatest leaders and discover the architectural marvels and urban planning accomplishments that altered the course of history. Learn about Byzantine architects driven to glory during the Dark Ages and witness the construction of the Tunnel of Samos, St. Peter’s Basilica, and Notre Dame.
Amazon.com:
Some of mankind's greatest achievements are explored and celebrated in Engineering an Empire, a sprawling, ambitious series produced by the History Channel and consisting of 12 episodes spread out over four discs. The scope is wide, both geographically (from China to Central America, from the cities of Western Europe to the plains of Siberia) and temporally (from thousands of years ago to the relatively recent past), but the focus is on specific engineering and architectural projects undertaken by the various civilizations under discussion--not just the what and the why, but more importantly, how some of these ingenious endeavors were accomplished.
A number of the structures and monuments examined here will certainly be familiar to viewers. The Great Wall of China, described as 'the most ambitious engineering project ever undertaken,' was centuries in the making yet only partially successful as a means of defense. Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, that glorious celebration of the Gothic notions of height, light, and space, was made possible only by the innovative system of flying buttresses used to support its walls, while the Eiffel Tower, defying both the conventions of construction and the tastes of most Parisians, was built in less than two years. In Florence, Filippo Brunelleschi overcame many obstacles in order to complete a magnificent brick dome for the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, now better known simply as the Duomo; in Athens, 30,000 tons of marble was hauled for ten miles to make the Parthenon. Yet as fascinating as these tales are, just as absorbing are some of the more mundane and lesser-known feats, like the canals, tunnels, and aqueducts used for delivering water, the techniques created for rooting and stabilizing enormous structures, or the hoists and cranes devised to lift tons of building materials hundreds of feet into the air.
The execution is typical of the History Channel, including interviews with experts, decent reenactment footage, and computer-generated diagrams and drawings. The series strives for a balance of scholarship (actor Peter Weller, the on-screen host, is identified only as a lecturer at Syracuse University--apparently 'star of RoboCop' was deemed undignified) and entertainment (the dramatic and portentous voiceover narration overrelies on words like 'amazing,' 'incredible,' and 'unparalleled'). A good deal of genuinely informative historical context is also provided, recounting the rises and falls of kings and emperors, battle tactics used in various conflicts, and the effect of catastrophes like the Black Plague. A brief behind-the-scenes featurette is the sole bonus item. --Sam Graham
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Perfect Combination of History and Technology
We purchased this set as a supplement to our World History homeschool curriculum, in an effort to help tie in the lessons with audio and visual. We are now half-way through the set, and I can safely say they are a hit!
Not only have the videos made history relevent to a high school student that didn't care a whit about history before, it has sparked an interest in Engineering. The combination of technolgy, culture and history has made a huge difference and resulted in my son's educational goals being set higher long term.
I would highly recommend this set to any Lego-maniac who doesn't find history interesting, and recommend it even more for those students who find reading dry and boring. You will be surprised to find history is cooler than you thought, and you might even feel the need to grab a book and learn more!
Rating: - The History Channel Has A Great Hit
This edition I was very lucky to catch on a sale for only 20 dollars so I couldn't pass this up. As some other of the reviewers have mentioned this does not cover the entire series but has everything you would want from this series for an academic purpose or for your own personal collection.
Peter Weller is a great host for this series and really uses great footage to bring out the reality of these empires which at one time existed. To bring out a basic understand of the civilizations of past can really help everyone, both for people in the study of history, and those not, understand our where our current civilization came from.
I would recommend this series to everyone, although for the fullest berth of this series one might consider picking up the collectors edition for the missing segments, with amazon actually currently pricing the collectors edition lower than this edition ($49.95 vs. $47.99).
Rating:  - Buy the Collector's Edition Instead.
I purchased this set because I am a fan of the series on the History Channel and wanted to own it on DVD. Sadly, I just realized that for only a few bucks more I could have gotten the Collector's Edition. THIS SET DOES NOT CONTAIN THE ENTIRE SERIES. It is missing the two original specials that spawned the series in the first place: Rome and Egypt. The Collector's Edition has 2 extra discs and featurs both of these award winning episodes--a total of 156 extra minutes of content (they each aired at 2 hours long with commercials compared to the 1 hour long season episodes). The Rome and Egypt episodes were also arguably the best of the series, in that they contained the most depth and the highest quality productions.
I highly recommend this series, but don't miss out by purchasing this set by accident. GO GET THE COLLECTOR'S EDITION for the most value and to experience ALL the content of the series.
Rating: - Fantastic Family Entertainment
Some of the best educational DVDs produced. They really give you a feel for what the cultures were like. My 10 and 11 year old boys really enjoyed watching them with me.
Rating: - Worth The Wait
This set was well worth the waiat, as a lover of any thing ancient this is one of the best sets I have been able to add to my collection.
10 out of 10.
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