Gold! : the history of man's great obsession / produced by Henninger Productions for the History Channel ; executive producer/director, Brian J. Kelly ; series producer, Lauren F. Cardillo ; series writer, Gary Parker.

The Gold Wars: From Pizarro's brutal conquest of the Incas to Custer's Last Stand, The Gold Wars explores the tragic legacy of man's lust for gold. Spain squandered the treasure it stripped from the New World in a doomed attempt to vanquish England. But as George Milling Stanley of the World Gold Council reveals, the same greed for gold ultimately fueled the dissolution of the British Empire, for England's conduct in the Boer Wars -- fought for control of South Africa's gold fields -- turned public opinion against imperialism. The Roman poet Virgil declared man's obsession with gold to be a "cursed thirst." The evidence of centuries suggests that he was right.

Gold Fever: Three miles beneath South Africa's Witwatersrand Basin, thousands of miners work around the clock. They are excavating the richest gold mines ever discovered. Gold Fever accompanies these miners on their journey to the center of the earth and travels back in time to the heyday of the California Gold Rush. The journals and letter of the 19th century prospectors reveal what it was like panning for gold in the wilderness, while a visit to South Dakota's Homestake mine shows how the industrial revolution put an end to the era of the lone prospector. And executives like Paul Streng, the CEO of the Rand Corporation, offer an insider's view of the modern gold mining industry.

The Stuff of Dreams unrolls brittle maps, traces ancient quests, and revisits the stunning discoveries that have highlighted mankind's never-ending search for gold. It's as much a journey into the human psyche as history, a sweeping look at everything from the legend of El Dorado and the search for the Ark of the Covenant to the temptations of the Lost Dutchman mine and the unearthing of the King Tut's tomb. Scholars explore the meaning of the most enduring golden myths and we'll join modern-day treasure hunters searching for sunken Spanish galleons off the Florida Keys. For as long as man has had dreams, they have been filled with visions of gold.

Cold Hard Cash: The development of money is, arguably second in importance only to the discovery of fire in our history. And without gold, it may not have happened. Visit the opulent temples of Constantinople and the bustling trading floors of Wall Street to explore the pervasive impact of money and gold on society. The epic tale is illustrated through in-depth analysis of incidents like the sinking of the SS Central America and the Nazis' use of plundered treasure to fund their war machine. If money makes the world go round, gold is the axis on which it turns.

Narrated by Michael Carroll.