Episode 8. I can’t imagine anyone avoiding this new Ken Burns-Lynn Novick documentary series – but for whatever reason, if you’ve stayed away thus far, please, please tune in tonight. This evening’s episode, “The History of the World,” covers the period from April 1969 to May 1970. That period happens to include two of the most heart-wrenching tragedies of the war – one abroad, one at home. The war tragedy is the massacre, by American troops, at My Lai. The homefront tragedy is the massacre, by America’s National Guard, of college students at Kent State University. That latter event closes this episode, and the story is told in a way that made me cry. For a full review of this episode, see Alex Strachan’s TV That Matters. Check local listings.

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