About this item
Four centuries ago, after four and a half months at sea, three ships (Discovery, Susan Constant, and Godspeed) landed on the shores of Virginia and established Jamestown. To mark the quadricentennial, a museum quality reproduction of the Godspeed was constructed in Maine. Hosted by Steve Thomas, an authority on traditional boat construction, this program combines elements of "how to" with those of the documentary film.
About the Author
Rick Beyer is best-selling author, award winning documentary filmmaker, and long-time history enthusiast. His new book, RIVALS UNTO DEATH, traces the thirty year rivalry between Hamilton and Burr that ended with their duel in Weekhawken NJ.
He is the co-author (with Liz Sayles) of the New York Times bestseller The Ghost Army of World War II: How One Top-Secret Unit Deceived the Enemy with Inflatable Tanks, Sound Effects, and Other Audacious Fakery. It was published by Princeton Architectural Press in April, 2015.
The book details the story of a top-seccret group of World War II GIs who staged a traveling road show of deception on the battlefields of Europe. Beyer also made an award-winning documentary film about the unit, The Ghost Army, which premiered on PBS in 2013. The San Francisco Chronicle called the film "mezmerizing," while TV Guide referred to it as "entrancing."
He has also produced documentary films for The History Channel, A&E, National Geographic, the Smithsonian and others. He is the author of the popular Greatest Stories Never Told series of history books published by Harper Collins, and described by the Chicago Tribune as "an old fashioned sweetshop full of tasty morsels." He has also worked as a radio reporter, a TV news producer, an ad agency creative director, and a janitor (not in that order) .
A graduate of Dartmouth College, Beyer lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, with his wife, Marilyn Rea Beyer.
"I am a lifelong student of history, I have been interested in it as long as I can remember--probably thanks to my dad, who is also a long time history enthusiast. When I was a boy my parents bought me a set of those Time-Lie history books loaded with heroic color illustrations. They captured my imagination and never let go."
