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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159 Items found Print
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A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
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Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
by Frances Cavanah
from Rand McNally
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Albert Einstein: Young Thinker
by Marie Hammontree
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And the Word Came With Power
by Joanne Shetler, Patricia Purvis
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
for 2nd-12th grade
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And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
by Jean Fritz & Margot Tomes
from Scholastic Inc.
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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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$6.00 (2 in stock)
Ben Franklin
See and Read: Beginning to Read Biography
by Estelle Friedman, illustrated by James Caraway
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin
Makers of America
by Ruth Cromer Weir, illustrated by Rus Anderson
from Abingdon Press
for 2nd-4th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin: Young Printer
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Black Courage
by A. E. Schraff
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Book About Christopher Columbus
by Ruth Belov Gross, Illustrated by Syd Hoff
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Buffalo Bill: Frontier Daredevil
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Meryl Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Cabin Boy to Advent Crusader
by Virgil Robinson, illustrated by Harry Baerg
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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)
Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
by Amy Hogeboom
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Clara Barton: Amazing Civil War Nurse
Amazing Americans
by Mary Dodson Wade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Clara Barton: Civil War Nurse
Historical American Biographies
by Nancy Whitelaw
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
from Scholastic Inc.
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$3.00 (3 in stock)
Columbus: The Triumphant Failure
by Oliver Postgate & Naomi Linnell
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
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Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
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Daniel Boone: Young Hunter and Tracker
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
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Davy Crockett
by George Edward Stanley
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Davy Crockett, Young Pioneer
by Laurence Santrey
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Douglas Macarthur: American Hero
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Duke Ellington
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Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
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1999 Caldecott Honor Book
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Electrical Wizard
by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Oliver Dominguez
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Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
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Enemies of Slavery
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Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky
by Barbara Schiller
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Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
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Explorers News
The History News
by Michael Johnstone
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Flight
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Mike Wimmer
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1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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For You They Signed
by Marilyn Boyer
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Forging Freedom
by Hudson Talbott
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Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
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Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Latinos in American History
by Jim Whiting
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From Colonies to Country with George Washington - Set
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George Washington You Never Knew
by James Lincoln Collier
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George Washington's Breakfast
by Jean Fritz
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Biography for 1st-4th grade
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George Washington, Spymaster
by Thomas B. Allen
from National Geographic
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Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
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Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
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Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Happy Birthday, Dr. King!
by Kathryn Jones, Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
from Modern Curriculum Press
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$2.00 (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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Harry Houdini: Master of Magic
by Robert Kraske
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Henry Ford
by Dina El Nabli
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Her Story, Her Words
by Frances E. Ruffin
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How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning
by Rosalyn Schanzer
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Hudson Taylor
by Ben Alex,
from Victor Books
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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
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If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King
by Ellen Levine
Updated from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
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$4.50 (2 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$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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$7.99 $4.00 (7 in stock)
In Their Own Words: Abraham Lincoln
In Their Own Words
by George Sullivan
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Biography for 3rd-4th grade
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Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion
by Andrea Gianopoulos
1st edition from Capstone Press
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Jeb Stuart
Historical American Biographies
by Lynda Pflueger
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Jedediah Smith
by Sharlene and Ted Nelson
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
John Brown: One Man Against Slavery
by Gwen Everett, Illustrated by Jacob Lawrence
from Rizzoli International Publications
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
John, Paul, George & Ben
by Lane Smith
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Juan Ponce de Leon
by Tamara Green
from World Almanac Library
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Juliette Low, Girl Scout Founder
by Helen Boyd Higgins
from Patria Press, Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$5.00 (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)
Kidnapped Prince
by Olaudah Equiano
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King's Day
by Aliki
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Legends of the Wild West
by James A. Crutchfield, Bill O'Neal, Dale L. Walker
from Publications International
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Liberty Letters: The Story of Pocahontas, 1613
Liberty Letters
by Nancy LeSourd
1st edition from Zondervan
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life of Washington
by Josephine Pollard
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
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Lights In Lisuland
CF4Kids Trail Blazers
by Irene Howat
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Listening to Crickets
by Candice F. Ransom
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (4 in stock)
Little Annie Oakley and Other Rugged People
by Stewart H. Holbrook
First Ediition from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lotta Crabtree
by Lois V. Harris
from Pelican Publishing Company
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Louis Braille
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
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Louis Braille
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
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$1.50 (1 in stock)
Make Way for Sam Houston
by Jean Fritz; illustrated by Elise Primavera
First Edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Marco Polo
by Struan Reid
from Heinemann Library
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Marco Polo: Voyager to the Orient
by Carol Greene
from Houghton Mifflin
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Marie Curie's Search for Radium
by Beverley Birch
from Barron's
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.99 $4.00 (2 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)
Meet Christopher Columbus
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Meet Christopher Columbus
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$2.00 (2 in stock)
Meet George Washington
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Joan Heilbroner
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Meet George Washington
by Joan Heilbroner
First Scholastic Printing 2001 from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Meet Thomas Jefferson
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Meet Thomas Jefferson
by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
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$1.50 (3 in stock)
Mighty Jackie
by Marissa Moss
1st edition from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
$11.00 $96.00 (1 in stock)
Molly Pitcher: Young Patriot
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
My Brothers' Flying Machine
by Jane Yolen
from Little, Brown & Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mysterious Journey
by Martha Wickham
from Soundprints
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Nathan Hale
Hidden History: Spies
by Aaron Derr, Illustrated by Tami Wicinas
from Red Chair Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
One Thousand Paper Cranes
by Takayuki Ishii
2001 Printing from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Pasteur's Fight Against Microbes
by Beverly Birch
from Barron's
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.99 $4.50 (6 in stock)
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