Saturday, March 22, 2008

PBS Shows This Week


A few weeks ago, I was in Costco and was emotionally jarred to see "Johnny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo. This book that was described by the Chicago Daily News as "It is hard to imaging a more persuasive argument for staying out of war than this smooth, savage, brilliant tale." The book was written during World War I. My sister gave it to me and I read it during the Vietnam War. And here it is, again.

One reason I think the book was jarring to see is that most of us have so few reminders in our life that the tragic war is still ongoing. Thankfully, this week PBS has two programs this week to remind us....

Bill Moyers Journal has an excellent story about the documentary "Body of War" and its hero, Tomas Young, as well as the film's co-directors Phil Donohue and Ellen Spiro. The show includes a clip from the move that juxtaposes the congressional war resolution vote and the cost that Mr. Young paid for that decision. For more information, see Bill Moyers Journal

Also coming up on Monday 3/24 & Tuesday 3/25 is a PBS Frontline "Bush's War" 2-part 4 1/2 hour story documenting the run-up to the war. For more information, see Bush's War