Regional History

Once upon a time, schoolchildren could be expected to know the name of the mountains separating France from Spain, the location of the Nile River, the capitals of all fifty states, and what and where the Pampas could be found. Now, even adults have a hard time naming the most populous city in the U.S. or the countries of Asia. These are, indeed, sad times, and doomed to become sadder if this geographic ignorance is not turned to knowledge.

Without a firm grasp on geography, how can we expect to know anything about history? History is rooted in a sense of place. Why did the Union troops lose the Battle of Cold Harbor? Because they were attacking Confederate fortifications uphill. And if you don't know anything about the Alps, the fact that Hannibal's army crossed them with elephants won't surprise you near as much as it should. Understanding the physical terrain and the demographics of an area are essential to understanding the history of that region.

Which is why studying history by place is such a good idea. There are cultural considerations, of course, and these can be immensely helpful guides in their own right, but simply looking at the lay of the land so to speak will provide a sense of context more abstract boundaries never can. African history, for instance, makes so much more sense if you know what the continent is like.

Even cultures are influenced by geography. Take the United States: some of the most important advances in transportation technology happened within her borders largely due to necessity. The steam engine train was perfected here, automobiles and airplanes were invented here, and in the last few decades we've led the world in space exploration.

It's not that no one traveled before the 19th and 20th century, or outside the North American continent—it's just that because the new nation was so vast, and there were so many natural barriers (the Mississippi River, the Grand Tetons and Great Smokey Mountains, the Mojave Desert), new forms of getting from here to there were not only a good idea, they were a necessity.

There probably isn't one instance in the history of the world in which geography and events weren't directly tied. Certainly this is true for military history, and exploration, and agriculture, but it's also true of ideas and ideologies. Part of the reason slavery was such an important part of Southern culture in the U.S. was that cotton was an immensely growable crop and only armies of slaves could be counted on to get all the work done; in order to justify the use of forced labor, however, a philosophical ethos was developed.

Other instances may be more obscure, but no less true. In France, the mild climate and fertile country led to a series of approaches to thought that emphasized experience and the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake (particularly existentialism); in ancient Greece, the geographical isolation enforced by mountains and seas allowed democratic polity to emerge among the city states.

Geography and history are pretty much Siamese twins, and academic technology has not advanced to the point where they can be separated without risk of life to both. We've organized the subcategories in this section along pretty standard lines (continents, countries, and the like), but standards arise because they work. Explore a region you're unfamiliar with; you're likely to uncover quite a few surprises.

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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175 Items found Print
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Abe Lincoln
Landmark Series
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Across Five Aprils
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Across Five Aprils
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Adam of the Road
Puffin Newbery Library
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Adoniram Judson
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Puffin Classics
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After the Dancing Days
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After the War
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Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!
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Amos Fortune, Free Man
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Art of Keeping Cool
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Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
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Betty Greene
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Bloomability
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Blue Willow
Puffin Newbery Library
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1941 Newbery Honor Book
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Breadwinner, The
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Brother Andrew
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!
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C. T. Studd
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Caddie Woodlawn
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Caddie Woodlawn's Family
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Cameron Townsend
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Heroes of History
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Carlota
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Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
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Concise Illustrated History of the American Revolution
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Corrie Ten Boom
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Christian Heroes: Then and Now
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Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Devil's Arithmetic
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Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
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Dragonwings
Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1903
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Dragonwings
Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1903
by Laurence Yep
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Endless Steppe
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Eric Liddell
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Escape From Warsaw
by Ian Serraillier, illustrated by Irwin Hoffman
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Esperanza Rising
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Eyes of the Emperor
by Graham Salisbury
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Eyes of the Emperor
by Graham Salisbury
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Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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Florence Young
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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For Freedom
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Freedom Train
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Freedom's Children
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Gettysburg
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Ghost in the Tokaido Inn
by Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler
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Gladys Aylward
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Good Night, Mr. Tom
by Michelle Magorian
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Good Night, Mr. Tom
by Michelle Magorian
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Great Little Madison
by Jean Fritz
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Biography for 5th-8th grade
1990 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Great Northern?
Swallows and Amazons #12
by Arthur Ransome
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Great Turkey Walk
by Kathleen Karr
from Sunburst Book
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Guns for General Washington
by Seymour Reit
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Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Beecher Preachers
by Jean Fritz
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Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
Signet Classics
by Helen Keller
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Hidden
by Fanya Gottesfeld Heller with Joshua M. Greene
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Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
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Hitty
by Rachel Field
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Personification story for 4th-8th grade
1930 Newbery Medal winner
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Homeless Bird
by Gloria Whelan
from HarperCollins
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House of Sixty Fathers
by Meindert DeJong & Maurice Sendak
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
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$16.95
House of Sixty Fathers RPG
by Meindert DeJong & Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
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House of the Red Fish
by Graham Salisbury
from Ember
Historical Fiction for 5th-7th grade
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Hudson Taylor
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
Hunt for the Bamboo Rat
Prisoners of the Empire #4
by Graham Salisbury
from Ember
Historical Fiction for 5th-7th grade
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Ida Scudder
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
Indian Captive
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
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Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal winner
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
Anv from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal winner
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Jacob DeShazer
Christian Heroes: Then and Now
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
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Biography for 4th-8th grade
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$11.99
Jim Elliot
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Jim Elliot
by Irene Howat
from Christian Focus Publications
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Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
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Jonathan Goforth
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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Journey Home
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Journey to Jo'Burg
by Beverley Naidoo
from HarperCollins
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Journey to Jo'Burg
by Beverley Naidoo
from HarperCollins
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Kidnapped
Puffin Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Puffin Books
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$8.99
Kidnapped Prince
by Olaudah Equiano
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Kim
Puffin Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
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$7.99
Kite Rider
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from HarperTeen
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$15.99
Klaus-Dieter John
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
Landing of the Pilgrims
Landmark Series
by James Daugherty
from Random House
Historical Non-Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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$6.99
Lantern in Her Hand
by Bess Streeter Aldrich
from Puffin Books
Realistic fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$8.99
Laura
by Donald Zochert
from Avon Books
for 7th grade-adult
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
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