Discoveries…America National Parks: Washington D.C.

The latest entry in filmmakers Jim and Kelly Watt's high-def filmed Discoveries…America National Parks series explores the many monuments and other points-of-interest in Washington, D.C., beginning at the National Mall, which is surrounded by memorials and offers a grand view of the U.S. Capitol building. Viewers get close-up looks at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial (with its various fountains of increasingly complex design), and the relatively new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, featuring a breathtaking marble sculpture of King emerging from a mountaintop. The program also visits Ford's Theatre, which has many displays concerning the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and takes a peek at other Lincoln-esque exhibits. Memorial tributes to America's various wars are also included here, as are glimpses inside the Clara Barton and Frederick Douglass National Historic Sites. And a fair amount of time is spent at the Smithsonian Institution, with its departments dedicated to the American Indian, space and science, Asian art, and so much else. A most welcome addition to travel collections, this is highly recommended. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)