A New Seven-Part Epic Documentary About World War II

The War, a seven-part series directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, tells the story of the Second World War through personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns: Waterbury Connecticut; Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; and the tiny farming town of Luverne, Minnesota. The series explores the most intimate human dimensions of the greatest cataclysm in history - a worldwide catastrophe that touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America - and demonstrated that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.

In every episode, veterans' accounts of battle are interwoven with the poignant recollections of their loved ones back home, who, for four long years, carried on with their lives, contributed to the war effort, and lived in constant fear of telegrams containing news too terrible to bear. The film honors the bravery, endurance and sacrifice of Americans who lived through what will always be known simply as THE WAR.

"The Second World War was so massive, catastrophic and complex, it is almost beyond the mind's and the heart's capacity to process everything that happened and, more important, what it meant on a human level," said producer Ken Burns. "Every person in the country was deeply affected by this war, whether in battle, at home, at work, or in the case of Japanese-Americans, in internment camps. By focusing on the personal stories of ordinary Americans who had extraordinary experiences, the film tries to bring one of the biggest events in the history of the world down to a very intimate scale. And in the end, we all begin to see, I think, that there are no 'ordinary' lives."

Two troubling trends fueled Burns' desire to create The War -- the rapid pace that World War II veterans are dying (1,000 a day) and the number of high school students who believe the United States fought with Germany during the Second World War. The War addresses both issues by capturing stories from the generation that fought and lived through World War II before they are lost to us forever.

Narrated by Keith David, The War features first-person voices read by some of America's greatest actors, including Tom Hanks, Josh Lucas, Bobby Canavale, Samuel L. Jackson, Eli Wallach, Robert Wahlberg, Carolyn McCormack, Adam Arkin and Kevin Conway.

Visit PBS' national site for The War