Modern History

There isn't more history in the last five centuries than all the previous millennia, we just have more plentiful records of it. In all honesty, sometimes the plethora of detail isn't only overwhelming, it obscures the whole point of the story. As humans, we're all too susceptible to the lure of obscurity, to the desire for darkness where there ought to be light.

In many ways, this is the chief characteristic of modern history. Mankind seems to have accepted Enlightenment ideals en masse, and the result is the non-stop acquisition of knowledge, as though information could shut us off from the eye of a just and jealous God. Evolutionary theory, psychology, existentialism and postmodernism, public education, Communism—all these ideas are intended to put man at a further remove from God.

During the Renaissance, thinkers and artists decided that if man was going to make himself great, he'd have to replicate the glory of the Classical Era, with its enduring artifacts and intellectual produce. Enlightenment thinkers took this one step further, insisting that man could only know what he could deduce using reason alone, and consequently amassing knowledge in order to have a more thorough basis for such reasonable inquiry.

Since then, philosophers and scientists have devoted themselves to interpreting the facts from a purely human perspective, creating a picture of the universe that is mechanistic and godless. Meaning is dead, God is dead, and hope is dead, but the Enlightenment ideal of human progress (repackaged as Darwinian naturalism) is alive and well, the phantom idol of countless millions.

Even a brief survey of the last century would seem to demolish the possibility of any such idea, but it continues to inform nearly every element of our culture, from pop music to public policy debates. Atrocities like the Holocaust, racism in America, abortion, and totalitarian rule in Asian countries are reinterpreted or explained away to fit the overarching rubrik of sustained forward progress.

Christians understand things a bit differently. We aren't pessimists by any means, but we aren't blind optimists, either. God's plan entails one thing: His ultimate glory, and for those who believe His promises and trust Him for salvation, that's the most hopeful doctrine conceivable. At the same time, we also understand that man's efforts cannot be responsible for whatever good befalls us, that "progress" is only a gift of the Most High, and that only through the Holy Spirit is evil overcome by good.

The modern world is increasingly secular. Even in the Church, men and women stray from biblical truth in favor of appealing arguments on behalf of man, substituting a Christ-centered Gospel with one that is primarily focused on mankind and our individual salvation. We must counter these attitudes with God's truth, but we can only do so with an understanding of where those ideas come from and why they've taken root. A thorough study of modern history can and will provide those answers, and teach us how to stand firm in the truth we hold dear.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and 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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174 Items found Print
Active Filters: Biographies, 2nd grade (Ages 7-8)
A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
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in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
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Abe Lincoln Goes to Washington
by Cheryl Harness
from National Geographic
Picture Book Biography for 2nd-4th grade
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Abigail Adams
A Discovery Book
by Helen Stone Peterson, illustrated by Betty Fraser
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Abraham Lincoln
A Discovery Book
by Anne Colver
from Garrard Publishing Company
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Abraham Lincoln
A Rookie Biography
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
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Abraham Lincoln & His Family - Paper Dolls
by Tom Tierney
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$9.99
Abraham Lincoln - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
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$5.99
Adoniram Judson: A Grand Purpose
by Renee Meloche
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AIO Imagination Station Book #21
by Marianne Hering
from Focus on the Family
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America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 2nd-6th grade
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$12.99
Amistad - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
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$3.95
Amy Carmichael: Rescuing the Children
Heroes for Young Readers
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Biography for 2nd-4th grade
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And the Word Came With Power
by Joanne Shetler, Patricia Purvis
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$8.50 (2 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
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
by Jean Fritz & Margot Tomes
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
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Anne Frank's Story
by Carol Ann Lee
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Around the World in a Hundred Years
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
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Beethoven
by Reba Paeff Mirsky
from Follett
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Ben Franklin
See and Read: Beginning to Read Biography
by Estelle Friedman, illustrated by James Caraway
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
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in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin
Makers of America
by Ruth Cromer Weir, illustrated by Rus Anderson
from Abingdon Press
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
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Biography for 1st-6th grade
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Book About Christopher Columbus
by Ruth Belov Gross, Illustrated by Syd Hoff
from Scholastic Inc.
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Brave Girl
by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
from HarperCollins
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Brothers at Bat
by Audrey Vernick
from Clarion Books
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in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
Calamity Jane
by Doris Faber
from Houghton Mifflin
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Carl Linnaeus
Great Minds of Science
by Margaret Anderson
from Enslow
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Chief Seattle
by Elizabeth Rider Montgomery
from Garrard Publishing Company
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Choosing Brave
by Angela Joy, illustrated by Janelle Washington
from Roaring Brook Press
for 1st-4th grade
2023 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
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$19.99
Christopher Columbus
by Elaine Murray Stone
500 Anv from Tyndale House
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Columbus: The Triumphant Failure
by Oliver Postgate & Naomi Linnell
from Franklin Watts
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Corrie Ten Boom: Shining in the Darkness
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
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Country Artist
by David R. Collins
from First Avenue Editions
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
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Cruise of Mr. Christopher Columbus
A Really Truly Story
by Sadyebeth & Anson Lowitz
from Lerner Publishing Group
Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Dear Benjamin Banneker
by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
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$7.99
Drawing America: Sacajawea
Drawing America
by Elaine Raphael & Don Bolognese
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 1st-3rd grade
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Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Elizabeth Leads the Way
by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Encounter
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Voyager Paperbacks
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Enemies of Slavery
from Holiday House
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Famous American Women - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Gregory Guiteras
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$4.99
Finding Winnie
by Lindsay Mattick
First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
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2016 Caldecott Winner
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$19.99
Flight
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Mike Wimmer
from Philomel Books
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1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
George Muller: Faith to Feed Ten Thousand
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
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George Washington - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
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$4.99
George Washington Carver: America's Scientist
Heroes of History for Young Readers
by Renee Taft Meloche
from Emerald Books
for 1st-4th grade
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George Washington Carver: The Peanut Wizard
by Laura Driscoll
from Grosset & Dunlap
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George Washington's Breakfast
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 1st-4th grade
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George Washington: America's Patriot
Heroes of History for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
from Emerald Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
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Gingerbread for Liberty!
by Mara Rockliff, Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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$17.99
Girl From the Tar Paper School
by Teri Kanefield
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for 1st-4th grade
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Great Adventure of Christopher Columbus
by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Tomie dePaola
from Putnam & Grosset Group
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
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Happy Birthday, Dr. King!
by Kathryn Jones, Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
from Modern Curriculum Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney
2006th edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$2.50 (3 in stock)
Harry Houdini: Master of Magic
by Robert Kraske
from Scholastic Inc.
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Henry Ford
by Dina El Nabli
from HarperCollins
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Her Story, Her Words
by Frances E. Ruffin
from Rosen Central
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning
by Rosalyn Schanzer
from HarperCollins
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
How I Learned Geography
by Uri Shulevitz
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 2nd-5th grade
Caldecott Honor Book
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$21.99
How Sweet the Sound
by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Frank Morrison
from Atheneum
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
I Am Rosa Parks
by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins, illustrated by Wil Clay
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
I am Sacagawea
Ordinary People Change the World
by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos
from Dial Books for Young Readers
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King
by Ellen Levine
Updated from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
by Bette Bao Lord
from HarperCollins
Immigration for 2nd-6th grade
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Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion
by Andrea Gianopoulos
1st edition from Capstone Press
for 1st-4th grade
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Jane Addams
A Discovery Book
by Helen Stone Peterson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
John Alden
by Olive W. Burt
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Brown: One Man Against Slavery
by Gwen Everett, Illustrated by Jacob Lawrence
from Rizzoli International Publications
for 1st-3rd grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
John Paul Jones
A Discovery Book
by Stewart Graff, illustrated by William Hutchinson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Paul Jones
Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee, illustrated by Tom Dunnington
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
John Wesley
by May McNeer, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Abingdon Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John, Paul, George & Ben
by Lane Smith
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Johnny Appleseed
by Reeve Lindbergh
from Little, Brown & Company
Poetry for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Journey to Monticello
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight
from Troll Publishing
Non-fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
Journey to Monticello
Adventures in Colonial America
by James E. Knight
from Troll Communications
Non-fiction for 1st-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Juan Ponce de Leon
by Tamara Green
from World Almanac Library
for 2nd-4th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln
An All Aboard Reading Reader Level 4
by Jean Fritz
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-3rd grade
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln
An All Aboard Reading Reader Level 4
by Jean Fritz
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP)
$4.99
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie
by Peter & Connie Roop
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
King's Day
by Aliki
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Kit Carson
by Shannon Garst
from Julian Messner
Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lafayette, Friend of America
Makers of America
by Alberta Powell Graham
1st edition from Abingdon Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Lafayette: French-American Hero
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Last Princess
by Fay Stanley; illustrated by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Picture Book Biographies for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Louis Braille
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $3.50 (3 in stock)
Louis Braille
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
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$1.50 (1 in stock)
Ludwig van Beethoven
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
Mark Twain and the Queens of the Mississippi
by Cheryl Harness
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
Martin Luther King, Jr
by Carol Hilgartner Schlank, Barbara Metzger, illustrated by John Kastner
from Gryphon House
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Man of Peace
by Garnet Jackson, Illustrations by George Ford
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Scholastic / Hello Reader! (Location: EAR-SCH)
$3.00 (4 in stock)
Mary Slessor: Courage in Africa
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
from YWAM Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Meet Abraham Lincoln
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Barbara Cary
from Random House
Biography for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Meet Andrew Jackson
by Ormonde de Kay
from Random House
for Kindergarten-2nd
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Meet George Washington
Step Up Books
by Joan Heilbroner
from Random House
Biography for 1st-4th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Meet John F. Kennedy
by Nancy Bean White
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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