From Ken Burns's documentaries to historical dramas, from A&E's Biography series to CNN, television has become the primary source for historical information for millions of Americans. Why has television become such a respected authority? What falsehoods enter our collective memory as truths? The essays in Television Histories explore the tensions between popular history and professional history and the tendency of some academics to declare the past "off limits" to nonscholars. The contributors examine the full spectrum of historical genres but also look at institutions such as the History Channel and the production histories of series. | Television Histories by Peter C. Rollins, Paperback | Indigo Chapters