Great Books (TV program)

Great Books is an hour-long documentary and biography program that aired on The Learning Channel. The series was a project co-created by Walter Cronkite and television producer Jonathan Ward under a deal they had with their company Cronkite Ward, The Discovery Channel, and The Learning Channel. Premiering on September 8, 1993, to coincide with International Literacy Day, the series took in-depth looks at some of literature's greatest fiction and nonfiction books, along with the authors who created them. Most of the narration was provided by Donald Sutherland.

Episodes feature insights from historians, scholars, novelists, artists, writers, and filmmakers who were directly influenced by the books showcased and discussed.

Portuguese adaptation
Grandes Livros premiered in 2009 and was a multi-platform release of Portuguese literature that involves a series of 12 documentaries. Each episode was a biography and documentary at 50-minutes each, narrated by Diogo Infante, actor and director of the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II. The featured episodes include:


 * 1. Os Maias (Eça de Queirós)
 * 2. Os Lusíadas (Luís Vaz de Camões)
 * 3. O Delfim (José Cardoso Pires)
 * 4. Amor De Perdição (Camilo Castelo Branco)
 * 5. Viagens na Minha Terra (Almeida Garrett)
 * 6. Sermão de Santo António Aos Peixes
 * 7. Aparição (Vergílio Ferreira)
 * 8. Livro do Desassossego (Fernando Pessoa)
 * 9. Mau Tempo No Canal (Vitorino Nemésio)
 * 10. Peregrinação (Fernão Mendes Pinto)
 * 11. Sinais De Fogo (Jorge de Sena)
 * 12. Navegações (Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen)