150 years since the first shots were fired in the American Civil War and what have we learned from it.

I'm Rick Steves and today on Travel with Rick Steves filmmaker and historian Ken Burns shares what he learned from filming his epic Civil War TV series.

Lincoln, as a young man in Springfield, Illinois, said,

whence shall we expect the approach of danger?

Shall some transatlantic giants step the earth and

crush us at a blow? If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and

finisher. We shall live through all time or die by suicide. And for vicarious

adventures Nancy Pearl brings us literary suggestions for armchair travels.

And the more you read the more eyes you see through, the more experiences that you share with other people,

exactly like travel.

Touring Civil War sites and losing yourself in great travel literature.

It's just ahead on Travel with Rick Steve's.

You can travel anywhere you want when you immerse yourself in good literature.

Coming up today on Travel with Rick Steve's,

librarian Nancy Pearl shares some of her favorites for mystery and intrigue and exotic places.

From Venice to Oz to the ends of the... mystery and intrigue and exotic places.

From Venice to Oz to the ends of the earth and once upon a time.

Let's start today with a call to Ken Burns as the U.S. observes the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.

The years he spent researching his epic Civil War series for public television taught Ken Burns

why it's important to learn from our own history, even as you visit the famous battlefield sites of the Civil War.

Ken Burns' 1990 documentary about the war was the most watched show in the history of public television.

It sparked a dramatic surge in

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