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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...and now Miguel
by Joseph Krumgold
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13 Colonies: Georgia
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
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Across Five Aprils
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Windermere Readers #10
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Africa's Vanishing Wildlife
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After the Dancing Days
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After the War
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All Aboard for Freedom
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America from the Beginning - Student Manual
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America Grows Up
A History for Peter #2
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America in the 1900s and 1910s
Decades of American History
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America in the 1930s
Decades of American History
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America is Born
A History for Peter #1
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America's Fascinating Indian Heritage
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America's God and Country
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 1
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American Heritage History of the Indian Wars
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American Heroes of the 20th Century
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American Indian Prayer Guide
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American Indian Tales and Legends
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American Presidents & Presidential First Ladies Notebooking Pages
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American Revolution
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American Waterways: Canal Days
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Americans Before Columbus
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1952 Newbery Honor Book
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Amethyst Ring
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Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition
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Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom
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Ancient Near East - Coloring Book
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Ancient Romans
People of the Ancient World
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Ancient Rome
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Ancient Rome
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Ancient Rome
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Ancient World: The Chinese
The Ancient World
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Angel on the Square
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Anna and the King (adapted)
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
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Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank, translated by B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt
Book Club Edition from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
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Anne of Avonlea
Anne #2
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Apache Land
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Art of Keeping Cool
by Janet Taylor Lisle
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2001 Scott O'Dell Award
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Atlas of North American Exploration
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Oklahoma Paperbacks Ed from University of Oklahoma Press
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Augustus Caesar's World
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Australia - An Interdisciplinary Unit
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Australia: Beyond the Black Stump
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Awakening of Europe
Story of the World Series #3
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Aztec and Maya Myths
by Karl Taube
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Aztecs
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by Robert Nicholson and Claire Watts
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B. Franklin, Printer
by David A. Adler
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Battle of Salerno
Italy, September 1943-1945
by Irving Werstein, with maps by Ava Morgan
First Edition from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
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Battle of the Little Bighorn
by Mark Henckel
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Battles of the Ancient World: 1285 BC ~ AD 451
by Kelly Devries, et. al
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Bayeux Tapestry
by Norman Denny & Josephine Filmer-Sankey
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Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum
by Ashley Bryan
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Beethoven Lives Upstairs
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Before Columbus
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Before Columbus
by Charles C. Mann
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Beggar's King
by Howard C. Emmons
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Behind Enemy Lines
Sterling Point Books
by H.R. DeMallie
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Behind the Bedroom Wall
by Laura E. Williams
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Behind the Blue and Gray
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Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark Series
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Betsy and Joe
by Maud Hart Lovelace, illustrated by Vera Neville
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Beyond the Sacred Page
Book of Books #2
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Big Annie of Calumet
by Jerry Stanley
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Big Annie of Calumet
by Jerry Stanley
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Big Book of the Civil War
by Joanne Mattern
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Billy Yank - Coloring Book
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Biography of James A. Garfield
Sons of Liberty Series
by William Thayer
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Birds of the Puget Sound Region
by Dennis Paulson
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Black Falcon
by Armstrong Sperry
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Black Hawk, Sac Rebel
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Black Heroes of the American Revolution
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1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
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Black Man in America
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Black Symbol
by Annabel & Edgar Johnson
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Blowing-Wand
Land of the Free Series
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Bold Journey
by Charles Bohner
from Houghton Mifflin
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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
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$24.99 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Bonanza Girl
by Patricia Beatty
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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$6.00 (4 in stock)
Book of the Ancient Romans - Teacher Guide
by Dorothy Mills
from Memoria Press
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