Chronological History

Sometimes we speak of world history as though it belongs to people. It doesn't—it belongs to God, and though people play prominently within the historical narrative, it always remains under God's auspices and control. The problem with losing the right perspective isn't that we'll get the facts wrong, it's that we'll fail to understand what they mean, what the purpose of past events is, and what we can look forward to.

Human history began all at once in the same place: the Garden of Eden, where God made Adam and Eve as the crown of all Creation. He told them to fill the earth and take dominion of it, and He also told them not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They ate the fruit anyway, and mankind was removed from paradise and introduced to tension, pain, and resistance.

The story of the world is in many ways simply the story of adversity. For the enemies of God, it's adversity in the form of the failure and futility of purely human endeavor; for God's people, it's the story of fighting for the truth against secular philosophies, fighting for holiness despite the pervasiveness of sin, and fighting for the Gospel in the face of persecution and death.

Jesus Christ is our only hope. He is the Prince of Peace, the defeater of Death, and the King of the Universe, the saver of souls and the punisher of wickedness. His kingdom is the restoration and glorious fulfillment of the paradise from which Adam and Eve were removed, and we work, wait, hope and pray for the quick fulfillment of His will in all things.

This is our framework for history. While it's important to study things like the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the ancient Near East, it's only important when investigated through the lens of God's ultimate sovereignty and plan. The story of mankind is the story of redemption, and only when we analyze battles, kings, treaties, and catastrophes from God's perspective can we truly make sense of them.

Otherwise, it's all fairly irrelevant and useless. Sure, there's Napoleon's dictum that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it, but a quick survey of the past will show that each successive generation does repeat the sins of their fathers, and that without Christ's real physical life on Earth as a centering point, there's no real cause for optimism or hope of any kind.

Christ's love not only makes the trajectory of history cause for hope; it reveals the truly great moments of the past, events that to the secular eye seem insignificant or even pernicious. We're speaking of the progress of the true Church, of course, and of each soul that God calls and makes His own through the agency of His Holy Spirit. These are the milestones we look for and celebrate.

We carry a lot of world history products. Because it's the story of God's work in the world and our human responses, we believe it's important to know and understand. Not everything we carry is Christian; there are plenty of secular resources here. We encourage you to use whichever ones work best for your situation, but that you do so with a view to understanding the will and work of the One who made history in the first place.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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Across America on an Emigrant Train
by Jim Murphy
from Sandpiper Books
for 5th-8th grade
1994 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
$10.95
Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!
by Theodore Taylor
from Harcourt
Historical Non-Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$8.99
American History Stories Volume 1
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$11.95
American History Stories Volume 2
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$11.95
American History Stories Volume 3
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$11.95
American History Stories Volume 4
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$11.95
American Revolution
Landmark Series
by Bruce Bliven
from Random House
Historical Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
American Revolution
America at War Series
by Alden Carter
from Grolier Publishing
Historical Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.95 $5.00 (4 in stock)
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
by Jean Fritz & Margot Tomes
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$7.99
Archimedes and the Door of Science
by Jeanne Bendick
from Bethlehem Books
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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Archimedes and the Door of Science
by Jeanne Bendick
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Augustine
by P. de Zeeuw
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.95
Awakening of Europe
Story of the World Series #3
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Awakening of Europe
Story of the World Series #3
by M. B. Synge
from Living Book Press
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99
Battle of Lexington
by Jonas Clark
from Nordskog Publishing
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Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
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by Margaret Cousins
from Random House
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Bomb
by Steve Sheinkin
First Edition from Flash Point
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2013 Newbery Honor Book, 2013 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$24.99 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Discovery
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-12th grade
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$20.95
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
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$17.99
Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
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Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?
by Jean Fritz
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$6.99
Children of the Great Depression
by Russell Freedman
from Sandpiper Books
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2006 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
$10.99
Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks
by F. J. Gould
from Yesterday's Classics
Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Civil War: A Narrative - 3 Volume Set
by Shelby Foote
1st Vintage Books Ed from Vintage Classics
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$88.00
Combat Nurses of World War II
Landmark #116
by Wyatt Blassingame
from Purple House Press
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in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$13.99
Exploits of Xenophon
World Landmark #18
by Geoffrey Household, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$14.99
Exploits of Xenophon
by Geoffrey Household
from Purple House Press
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in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$24.99
First Voyage to America
by Christopher Columbus
from Dover Publications
Historical Primary Sources for 10th-Adult
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$9.95
Fourth of July Story
by Alice Dalgliesh
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$8.99
Freedom Walkers
by Russell Freedman
from Holiday House
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2007 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$14.99
George Washington's Breakfast
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 1st-4th grade
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$6.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Gettysburg
Landmark Series
by MacKinlay Kantor
from Random House
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Gettysburg
by Frank A. Haskell & William C. Oates
from Bantam Books
Historical Non-fiction for 9th-Adult
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$6.00
Great Fire
by Jim Murphy
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
1996 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$7.99
Great Little Madison
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1990 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Guns of August
by Barbara W. Tuchman
from Ballantine Books
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in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Hiroshima
by John Hersey
from Vintage Classics
Historical Non-Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
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If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution
If You Were There
by Elizabeth Levy
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island
If You Were There
by Ellen Levine & Wayne Parmenter
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark
by Rhoda Blumberg
from HarperCollins
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Journals of Lewis & Clark
Signet Classics
by John Bakeless, editor
from Signet Classics
Primary Source Documents for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.95
Landing of the Pilgrims
Landmark Series
by James Daugherty
from Random House
Historical Non-Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$6.99
Last Battle
by Cornelius Ryan
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$20.00
Longest Day
by Cornelius Ryan
from Touchstone
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Magna Charta
Landmark Series
by James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
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in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$14.95
Medical Corps Heroes of World War II
Landmark #120
by Wyatt Blassingame
2022 Reprint from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$15.99
Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West
by LeRoy R. Hafen & Harvey L. Carter
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$21.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Naval War of 1812
by Theodore Roosevelt
from Random House
Historical Non-fiction for 10th-Adult
in War of 1812 (Location: HISA-19WET)
$15.95
Of Courage Undaunted
by James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$17.95
Our Island Story
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-7th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$22.95
Our Island Story (B&W Edition)
by H. E. Marshall
from Living Book Press
for 4th-7th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$15.99
Our Island Story (Color Edition)
by H. E. Marshall
from Living Book Press
for 4th-7th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$28.99
Peeps at Many Lands: Ancient Egypt
by Constance N. Baikie, James Baikie
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$10.95
Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt
Landmark Series
by Elizabeth Payne
from Random House
Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$6.99
Rough Riders
by Theodore Roosevelt
from Dover Publications
Historical non-fiction for 9th-Adult
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$8.95
Scotland's Story
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-12th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$17.95
Scotland's Story (full-color)
by H. E. Marshall
from Living Book Press
for 5th-12th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$22.99
Seaman
by Gail Karwoski & James Watling
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$9.99
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution!
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$8.99
Stampede for Gold
Sterling Point Books
by Pierre Berton
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Historical Non-fiction for 3rd-7th
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$6.95
Stonewall
by Jean Fritz & Stephen Gammell
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Stories from Ancient Rome
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$9.95
Stories From Livy
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 6th-9th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Stories from the Crusades
by Janet Harvey Kelman
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$9.95
Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans
by Edward Eggleston
from Yesterday's Classics
Narrative History for 1st-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$11.95
Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans
by Edward Eggleston
2nd edition from Memoria Press
Narrative History for 1st-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$14.65
Stories of Young Pioneers
by Violet T. Kimball
from Mountain Press
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-11th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$14.00
Story of Liberty
by Charles Coffin
from Maranatha Publications
Historical Reference for 10th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$19.97 $10.00 (3 in stock)
Story of Sir Walter Raleigh
The Children's Heroes Series
by Margaret Duncan Kelly
from Yesterday's Classics
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95
Story of the Declaration of Independence
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by R. Conrad Stein
from Scholastic Inc.
American History Reference for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$5.95
Story of the Greeks
by H. A. Guerber
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-9th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$15.95
Story of the Greeks
by H. A. Guerber
from Living Book Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$10.99
Story of the Last Days of Jerusalem
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 7th-10th grade
in Ancient Israel (Location: HISW-ANIS)
$10.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Persian War
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-10th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$12.95
Story of the Romans
by H. A. Guerber
from Living Book Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$10.99
Surviving Jamestown
by Gail Karwoski
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
for 3rd-12th grade
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$8.95 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Thanksgiving Story
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
1955 Caldecott Honor Book
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$8.99 $5.50 (2 in stock)
Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Viking Tales
by Jennie Hall
from Living Book Press
for 1st-4th grade
$8.99
Vikings
Landmark Series
by Elizabeth Janeway
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$9.95
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 4th-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$6.99 $3.50 (3 in stock)
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May?
by Jean Fritz & Margot Tomes
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$7.99
Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.99
Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.99
Witchcraft of Salem Village
Landmark Series
by Shirley Jackson
from Random House
Historical Non-Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$5.99
Wright Brothers
Landmark Series
by Quentin Reynolds
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Year of the Horseless Carriage: 1801
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$10.95
You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-6th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$6.99