Westinghouse

This fascinating documentary about tycoon George Westinghouse describes his fabulous career at considerable length, going into detail about his partnership with electrical genius Nikola Tesla and his legal wrangling with Thomas Edison. It also paints Westinghouse as an optimistic and compassionate boss, in stark contrast to the robber-baron image generally given to early 20th century captains of industry. Vintage newsreel shots and talking-head footage are skillfully juxtaposed to great effect.

Shelf Talk: Although this two-hour documentary makes for riveting entertainment, it’ll probably do best if pitched to the institutional markets—primary and secondary schools, public libraries, museums, etc. But those who enjoy History Channel and Biography-type programming are a potential audience as well.