History Specials

What is life really like in the American mafia? How do you get in, get made and make money? What happens when you get in too deep? This two-hour special takes viewers on a step-by-step journey through the world's most famous criminal organization as lived by one of its most notorious members. It will answer all these questions and more by turning to the ultimate authority: former Colombo family captain Michael Franzese.

How do you honor the memory and legacy of over 3,000 lives lost to the terror attacks of 9/11? That is the challenge facing the creators of the National 9/11 Memorial Museum, opening in 2014.

From the catapult to the stealth fighter, the most basic and the most complex weapons alike have changed the course of history--and with it, our world.

As we look at the world around us, we think we're seeing things as they really are. But in fact, our human senses can only perceive less than 1% of what's actually there. The rest is invisible. Every day, unseen rays and waves bombard us.

Across borders, cultures and time, food is one thing that all people share. And from the time of the caveman to today's spaceman we like our food to go. While the burger and fries reign supreme in the world of fast food, grub on the go has taken us way past the drive-thru. Quick eats like beef jerky have allowed us to explore new frontiers and pocket-sized portables like protein bars enable us to push our bodies to the limit, no matter the conditions. Fueled by pizza, we have burned the midnight oil, and from the battleground (MREs) to the final frontier (space food,) food is always along for the ride. This is the countdown of fast foods that takes us back, propels us forward, and sometimes even gazes into the future (the fortune cookie.)

The world changed irrevocably on 9/11. HISTORY shows us how. Following in the storytelling tradition of the Emmy Award-winning 102 Minutes That Changed America, 9/11: The Days After chronicles not only the hours, days and weeks after the worst terrorist attack in American history, but also the decade that followed. Beginning on September 12, 2001 - a Wednesday unlike any other - the special uses rarely seen and unexpected archival material from around the world to capture the themes that define us after the attacks and demonstrates how our lives were forever cleaved into "before 9/11" and "after."

Who was the first U.S. President from New York? What pre-Revolutionary event involved an unauthorized boarding of the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver? This school year, thousands of students from across the U.S. faced tough questions like these in the first annual National History Bee Competition. The top scorers qualified for a two-day National Championship held in Washington, D.C., where one young scholar walked away with a $50,000 scholarship and a national championship title. HISTORY will air the final rounds of this first-ever, fast-paced competition, in which students will race to demonstrate their knowledge of history from a wide array of eras and disciplines.

Haven, graveyard, legend and lore. History was made and lies buried on Pirate Island - the coral ringed Isle Saint Marie off the coast of Madagascar that sheltered the world's most ruthless 18th century pirates. This real Treasure Island was home for pirates like Captain Kidd, who continue to capture our modern day imagination, and sailed from this very real place in history.

Most people believe zombies are a recent phenomenon that grew out of comic books, movies and TV. The truth is very different. This two-hour special explores the real story of zombies beginning at the dawn of civilization and continuing right through to today. The first written reference to zombies can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, mankind's oldest work of literature.

Get inside the world of cons as Paul Wilson, aka the "World's Greatest Con Man," exposes the complicated schemes and straightforward hustles that have plagued unsuspecting people throughout history, showing how many of these scams survived - and evolved to be brutally effective with the help of modern technology.

Throughout history, mankind's ingenuity has pursued better ways to kill enemies and win wars. But hidden by our more famous inventions lie some highly unusual, sometimes unbelievable efforts. This special reveals the most absurd, ridiculous and radical examples of warfare ever recorded. Runtime:

How did the Germans experience the Allied victory in WWII? Rarely-and never-before-seen amateur films recount the catastrophic downfall of the Third Reich through the eyes of the people who lived it: the Germans themselves.

A strip of land fought over for centuries by England and Spain creates a nightmare of historic proportion for airline pilots. Gibraltar Airport's powerful winds and short runway --complete with ground traffic -- make it one of the world's most treacherous.

All warfare is based on deception. Therefore, when capable of attacking, feign incapacity; when active in moving troops, feign inactivity. When near the enemy, make it seem that you are far away; when far away, make it seem that you are near." - Sun Tzu Sun Tzu was the Nostradamus of warfare and his book Art of War, written 2,400 years ago, is still the ultimate how-to guide for winning at war. This feature-length HISTORY special weaves together the epic story of Sun Tzu himself, and a war that occurred soon after his death in which a city was saved using his tactics, paving the way toward the unification of China. Art of War is an emotional, epic and ultimately visual understanding of Sun Tzu's lessons, telling the story of other great battles in history, from Rome to the Civil War, WWII and the present day, that help to illustrate that on the battlefields of war, people who understand strategy are the most dangerous weapons of all.

In 1099 the Crusaders took Jerusalem in the bloodiest of battles, wrenching it back from the Muslims for the first time in 400 years. But, over the decades that followed, the Islamic world dreamed of fighting back. In 1144 the Muslims seized the city of Edessa from the Christians. The news reverberated back to Europe, and the Pope called for a Second Crusade. But this Crusade was a disaster. It failed to expand the Christian empire, and strengthened the resolve of the Muslims. Under their great leader, Saladin, the Muslim swept through the Christian Kingdom taking town after town. In 1187 he took Jerusalem. This shocked the west into responding, with a Third Crusade. Led by Richard the Lionheart they defeated Saladin and marched on Jerusalem. Richard failed to take the city and the Third Crusade failed.