Historian Michael Wood travels the world walking you through the history of some of the oldest civilizations. With each place you will discover how history plays a big part in the world today and how inventions and events of the past helped shape things as we know them. He tours ancient buildings, looks at artwork, talks to locals, and witnesses’ ceremonies that are still take place. 

The footage is poor, grainy, shaky, and old. The places covered get a fairly deep, informative look but there is only so much that can be covered and still be a one-sitting watch so I’m sure that some will not be fully satisfied with the information given to specific areas. This DVD set aired on PBS and was released previously in 2003. I can see this in history classrooms and added to collections of those in love with history; but worth a re-buy it is not. There are some bonus features included with this release, I was unable to find if there were any included on the previous release.

Iraq: Cradle Of Civilization
India: Empire Of The Spirit
China: The Mandate Of Heaven
Egypt: The Habit Of Civilization
Central America: The Burden Of Time
Europe: The Barbarian West