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I was expecting the usual type series you get for series' like this which is the usual 'they are good, but it's kind of boring and hammy'. Not at all the case on this one. First of all, very interesting. I learned so much that I had no clue about before. The acting is actually pretty good, but what really drives this series home is the terrific narration, the fantastic editing, and the magnificent sound and music that ties along with it.

This series is proof that if you have some patience, talent and money to put into the production, the possibilities are then limitless. And this production understands the great importance and power of a well thought out sound and music to play in the background. At times you feel like you're watching different mafia families go at it with each other. That you're watching the high powered cartels dish it out and it absorbs you in to where you don't want to stop watching. This is a brilliant series to watch and I was very pleasantly surprised by it.

Although I am not a history major or a self-proclaimed history buff, I loved this show. I normally NEVER watch TV and I simply couldn't stop until I was done with the series. I thought the producers did an excellent job of making these stories interesting and I also enjoyed the commentary. The men portrayed, (Vanderbuilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Ford) were business geniuses regardless of their often unscrupulous tactics amongst each other, smaller business and the working man. It's still a part of American history that everyone should learn about, including kids in school. Also, it's much better than most shows you find on TV these days.

You know the names of the foundations, the musems, the cultural centers; not so much the circumstances of these men who contributed to America as much as any of her Presidents. This series aims to put faces to names, and succeeds in that aspiration memorably. Ideologically, it links innovation, capitalism and the social good as well as anything you're bound to see in the popular media.

The opening titles won me over then and there, demonstrating that this series was something different. it rolled out a sequence of what we thought of as dusty old names and depicted them in 2.5D as rock stars, recalling the opening titles of "Easy Riders Raging Bulls (2003)." High production values are evident all around, from the exceptional CGI recreations to the casting and acting.

At times the production comes across as bit over-the-top, but isn't that appropriate given the outsized subject matter?

I home-school my daughter and used this series to expand on this era of time in American History.

Traditional schools just touch on these men. I wanted her to get the idea of who they really were, how driven they were and how visionary they had to be to achieve such greatness.

Now that we are done with the series, we both feel more informed, and we will miss The Men Who Built America in both spirit and history.

Side note: Great acting by all in the series, they brought their roles to life and gave them personality and depth.

An appealingly watchable and well done documentary on the men who emerged from post-Civil War America to become the titans of their respective enterprises and helped shape a nation into one of the greatest and most influential nations in history. The stories of Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford are shown featuring their rise from varied backgrounds to being among the most powerful men in the United States. Their interactions with each other and society around them, their triumphs, challenges, crimes and eventual declines are well presented. Decent actors portray the historical figures well and well done reenactments give a good glimpse into a time and place when these giants of industry dominated their respective domains. Interviews with authors and prominent business figures like Donald Trump and Jack Welch add a contemporary outlook and sense of perspective. Whether it be in shipping, railroads, oil, electricity, or automobiles the documentary shows that these moguls all had the vision, the confidence and the drive to succeed and saw opportunity in situations both good and bad and never allowed adversity or setbacks to get in their way. Informative and inspiring, "The Men Who Built America" highlights what man can achieve.

Pretty entertaining series, with an odd mix of commentators. Sort of a pot-boiler as historical documentaries go. We know it's more Hollywood than history when Donald Trump, Mark Cuban, Donny Deutsch, Steve Wynn, Russell Simmons, Jim Cramer, and Jerry Weintraub are consulted to comment on the history of American business. Alan Greenspan, good. Jack Welch, Carly Fiorina, Steve Case -- okay. Can't go wrong with Campbell Scott narrating.

Well done except for the made-for-TV, commercial ready breaks that allow way too many recaps. This series' runtime could easily be cut down by a third or more. They show key moments of future stories before even getting to them. So you know you know the punchline before telling the joke, so to speak. That is frustrating. They really have a lot of substance and production value to be proud of. Too bad they make the viewer out to be a forgetful fool.

Watching this again nearly 10 years later...the ultimate devotional to capitalism!!! More should have been said about how these men built their fortunes on the backs of workers with low wages, long hours, no healthcare, no retirement or job safety rules. That would have been more accurate. They are not as admirable as we think.

The disaster at Johnstown showed that.

Great historic documentary with actors dramatising the events. However, one thing really annoyed me is how every 10 minutes or so there is a recap! It's probably made for the US where they have commercial breaks every ten minutes (!) but why the constant recap??

There is no denying that this series is well crafted: expertly-written, produced and directed. Outstanding narration and perfectly cast re-enactments lend power and gravitas to an amazing era in American history.

There are however two irredeemable problems that no amount of money can solve. First, is that it is riddled with historical errors, overstatements and generalizations. If you are going to produce something for the history channel, you really ought to get the history right. Other reviewers here have pointed out many of these, so I won't belabor this point, but it is a shame they didn't get it right. The endless repetition was also a major viewing problem, but I lay that at the feet of the History Channel itself, rather than the writers, cast and crew, who did an excellent job.

And this leads to second and even greater sin: the blatant attempt to romanticize, even rationalize as good and right, the dirty, sleazy, underhanded and often downright criminal manner in which virtually every one of these scions of the industrial age conducted their affairs. I mean, if you turn to Donald Trump for insight into the mind of a successful business person, then you really have your ethical hat on backwards. All of the modern commentators are unapologetically in awe of the cunning and ruthlessness of guys like Vanderbilt, Carnegie and Ford, who regularly went back on their word, exploited their workers and couldn't give a damn about the American people, despite going to great lengths to project a white knight image of benevolent stewards of social development. They were total pricks, and the commentators they chose for this program are cut from the same cloth. You can plainly see that they all wish they were able to get away with today, what good old Henry Frick was able to pull.

It is apparent from the many positive reviews here that it had the desired effect. It seems to have reinforced the idea that these men, while undoubtedly crucial to the rapid rise of the American Empire, were basically noble Captains of Industry. The facts are, however, that they were horrible human beings and the moral rot that pervades America today should be directly attributed to their selfish pursuit of the almighty dollar at all costs.

Worth watching, but God Save America if you come away from it believing that History ought to look kindly and with respect the Men Who Built America.

I enjoyed watching "The Men Who Built America" and do strongly recommend it. The show is engaging and interesting--no doubt about that. However, I did have a few minor objections which seemed to come up more and more when the shows progressed. First, the show would normally only be seen by people who love history and yet, time and again, the show tried to create cliffhanger moments even though nearly every viewer KNOWS that Rockefeller went on to become rich and Carnegie took a few gambles but became mega-rich! No surprises yet the show sure made it seem like it was. Second, sometimes the show was just a bit over-the-top when it came to the drama and music. Tone it down just a bit please. And third, a few times the history just wasn't quite accurate--especially in episode 4.

So what we have is a rare show because it talks about the men who made America the economic power of the world--Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan and Ford. This is important history and generally is quite watchable but just could have scored a 10 had they roughed out a few aspects of the show.

The Civil War killed more Americans than all other wars put together. How the nation went from that low point to becoming an industrial colossus in just a few decades is a fascinating story, well told here by concentrating on a few of the key players. The idea of having commentary from top modern industrialists worked well; they often had insights most of us wouldn't have. The reconstructions were very good and sometimes spectacularly so - you really felt you were watching film from the time. Overall an entertaining, enjoyable, informative show.

The worst flaw was the repetition. We're used to "previously on XYZ" type stuff, even "next week on" - but this show would rehash something it had just done ten minutes ago, sometimes word for word. It even crossed my mind it might be meant for people with learning disabilities. For the rest of us this was totally unnecessary, and it made it hard to watch streaming - I sometimes thought, have I seen this episode or haven't I?

The narrative would have flowed better if the rest of the world had got more acknowledgement where relevant. With Carnegie, the critical British invention of the Bessemer Converter was discussed; but with Morgan's Panama Canal, the previous unsuccessful attempt by the French wasn't mentioned at all. Worst of all, when Rockefeller needed a new use for his oil beside kerosene, we were told he looked for a use for gasoline which was then a waste product, and found it in the automobile - as if cars had sprung into being out of nowhere in response to his wish. Why not say this German invention started to flourish in America at just the right time?

Documentary series which has an exceptional cinematography and contains nuances of great visionary entrepreneurs John D. Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford who literally built the america from the ashes of Civil war, to the great nation that it is now.

Though there are few historic inaccuracies which aren't acceptable as it is presented by the "History" channel itself.

Regardless of their ruthlessness, cut-throat competition and monopoly, they offered something greater for their nation. I'm sure this series is worth every second, undoubtedly there are lots of information for us to learn from this mini-series.

Apart from the series, the only confusion I had while viewing the series was that IMDB mentions there is only four episodes with run-length of 45 min on avg for each episode. While in reality there are eight episodes with 45 min on average.

In the John Rockefeller episode. Described as Rockefeller 'fueling Vanderbilt's trains' . This should have been 'filling'. Your sub editors need to stay awake. Otherwise this show is riveting. Demostrating it is innovative business men who make a country great, not politicians. Perhaps the phrase ' what is good for General Motors is good for America' was right after all.

In the UK we have destroyed our industry. Any that we have is owned by overseas companies. They may provide jobs which provides some tax revenues, but profits go overseas. Under European Union rules, the government has to purchase from the lowest bidder. Recently, orders for new trains went to Siemens in Germany who have been able to automate their plant as a result, The UK producer is left in the dark ages.

I will keep it simple. I am and have been a long time fan of documentaries, and this my friends is up there with the best in my opinion. I am young and this captivated me and consumed my attention. I look forward to more from them as long as they keep this formula going. I have recommended to all that I know. PLEASE WATCH and you will learn so much along the way. This country had developed so fast in such a short period of time and this series makes learning about it fun.

As a numbers guy, my biggest complaint is the exaggeration of dollar amounts. In one Segment they say JP Morgan raises 40 million for the Panama Canal or "7 billion in today's dollars". A 175 times markup. And To build his first plant, Ford raises $28,000 or $700,000 today. A 25 time mark up, which is the accurate rate of inflation. This is just one example of many where the numbers just don't add up in this documentary. Other than the slow movement and repetitive nature, this series is ok to watch, especially if you have a fast forward button.

Some scenes show (quite naturally)trains running through the countryside. Problem is they are modern British Trains running through mostly Scottish countryside. The image hardly fits with stories about Vanderbilt. Again with Carnegie, during his great strike initiated by Clay Frick, we are shown Andrew Carnegie as being in Dunfermiline, Scotland at that time. Indeed, he was in Scotland, but NOT Dunfermile. He was in Skibo Castle about 250 miles NORTH of Dunfermline, and more out of touch with Pittsburgh than is suggested. Also, Dunfermline is portrayed as a tiny fishing village in a sleepy little seaside scene. This is also very wrong. My point is, if History channel got the simple basics wrong, how can I believe the other, more significant facts. My overall impression of this series was that some basic facts were correct, but the entire story was not. In all, a poorly done show and well beneath the ability and competence of The History Channel and those who created the video.

I love history, and this series is no exception. However, the problem with this series is that it bounces around so much from multiple flashbacks to forewards and back again that I actually had to stop and look up certain individuals and research for myself to find out exactly what happened when, and in what order.

One of the most glaring examples is the relationship between Andrew Carnegie, and Tom Scott, and when Carnegie got involved in the steel business, and when Tom Scott helped him in his endeavors, and finally, when Tom Scott actually died. (This is just one example.) Otherwise, this is a great series.

I have watched the entire series at least 10 times. Great production and narration.

I didn't know much of the history but this has left me intrigued and inspired. It has led me on a hunt for more information about all these titans. They truely built America and are so relevant to the way we live our lives to this day.

They literally changed the world.