Reel 1276

Debut: A 94-part mosaic of people and events that shaped the U.S. opens with a portrait of a city destroyed and rebuilt. The year was 1906. Archival materials and survivor accounts chronicle the devastation wreaked on San Francisco by the powerful earthquake that struck on April 18 and the raging fires that followed. But as the ruins smoldered, a massive recovery program was begun—one that culminated in 1915 when the city opened its Golden Gate to a world's fair. Host: David McCullough. (60 min.)

Severaud says his social awareness was honed during his ensuing years at the University of Minnesota. After covering a political campaign of striking students in 1934, he recalls, "I went home as close to becoming a practicing revolutionary as I would ever be." After graduation, he worked for the Paris edition of the New York Herald Tribune, writing about Nazi Germany at the outset of World War II. "The people of Germany were heartlessly sick," Severaud says. "They hated the world and they hated themselves." Severaud's long association with CBS began in the summer of 1939, when Edward R. Murrow asked Severaud to report on the war for CBS Radio. "I was frightened, scared, but willing to try," he recalls. Try and succeed he did, becoming one of broadcasting's most respected commentators. (60 min.)

(Civil rights)

(Concluded next tape.)

Debut: A 16-part mosaic of people and events that shaped the U.S. opens with a portrait of a city destroyed and rebuilt. The year was 1906. Archival materials and survivor accounts chronicle the devastation wreaked on San Francisco by the powerful earthquake that struck on April 18 and the raging fires that followed. But as the ruins smoldered, a massive recovery program was begun—one that culminated in 1915 when the city opened its Golden Gate to a world's fair. Host: David McCullough. (60 min.)

A-Bomb.

The longtime CBS News oracle recalls his life and career. Arnold Eric Sevareid was born in 1912 in Velva, N.D., in a region populated by Scandinavian and German immigrant farmers. In the 1920s, when a drought started the area's economy, Sevareid's family moved to Minneapolis, where he enrolled in Central High School. There, Sevareid's ambition to be a professional reporter was whetted by his experiences as an editor of the school paper. Sevareid says his social awareness was honed during his ensuing years at the University of Minnesota. After covering a police ambush of striking truckers in 1934, he recalls, "I went home as close to becoming a practicing revolutionary as I would ever be." After graduation, he worked for the Paris edition of the New York Herald, writing about Nazi Germany at the outset of World War II. "The people of Germany were neurotically sick," Sevareid says. "They hated the world and they hated themselves." Sevareid's long association with CBS began in the summer of 1939, when Edward R. Murrow asked Sevareid to report on the war for CBS Radio. "I was flattered, scared, but willing to try," he recalls. Try and succeed he did, becoming one of broadcasting's most respected commentators. (60 min.)

(Civil rights)

(Concluded next tape.)

Debut: A 16-part mosaic of people and events that shaped the U.S. opens with a portrait of a city destroyed and rebuilt. The year was 1906. Archival materials and survivor accounts chronicle the devastation wreaked on San Francisco by the powerful earthquake that struck on April 18 and the raging fires that followed. But as the ruins smoldered, a massive recovery program was begun—one that culminated in 1915 when the city opened its Golden Gate to a world's fair. Host: David McCullough. (60 min.)

The longtime CBS News oracle recalls his life and career. Arnold Eric Sevaerid was born in 1912 in Velva, N.D., in a region populated by Scandinavian and German immigrant farmers. In the 1920s, when a drought stunned the area's economy, Sevaerid's family moved to Minneapolis, where he enrolled in Central High School. There, Sevaerid's ambition to be a professional reporter was whetted by his experiences as an editor of the school paper. Sevaerid says his social awareness was honed during his ensuing years at the University of Minnesota. After covering a police ambush of striking truckers in 1934, he recalls, "I went home as close to becoming a practicing revolutionary as I would ever be." After graduation, he worked for the Paris edition of the New York Herald, writing about Nazi Germany at the outset of World War II. "The people of Germany were neurotically sick," Sevaerid says. "They hated the world and they hated themselves." Sevaerid's long association with CBS began in the summer of 1939, when Edward R. Murrow asked Sevaerid to report on the war for CBS Radio. "I was flattered, scared, but willing to try," he recalls. Try and succeed he did, becoming one of broadcasting's most respected commentators. (60 min.)

(Civil rights)

(Concluded next tape.)