Overall, this is an excellent, balanced history of the United States. I used it as part of my daughter's home schooling. Up until the lead-in to the Civil War, the course is taught by Allen Guelzo, and this is his best performance in the Great Courses. The material is well organized and he doesn't get too bogged down in religious history as he tends to do. The Civil War years are problematic. Professor Gallagher is nerve-wracking to watch, as he seems to fear getting too far from his lectern. His delivery is also sub-par, although I found I could listen to him much easier if I just didn't watch him. Professor Alitt brings things back up to a high standard for the last part of the course. This is a fairly old course, so there aren't great visuals, just a lot of pictures of the folks being talked about. So it works very well as an audio only course, if you're looking for something educational for a VERY long car trip! ( )

(84 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture) on 14 DVDs
Course No. 8500