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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Acadia National Park
Road Trip: National Parks
by Kathleen Connors
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
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Akavak
by James Houston
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Algonquin
by Natalie M. Rosinsky
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Amelia Earhart
Lives to Remember
by Burke Davis
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American Revolution
Revolution!
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Among the Plains Indians
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People of the Ancient World
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Art of the Woodland Indians
by Shirley Glubok
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Asian Crafts
by Judith Hoffman Corwin
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Battle of Valcour Bay
Triangle Histories: The Revolutionary War
by Scott Ingram
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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Bears, Pirates and Silver Lace
by Anne B. Fisher; illustrated by Phil Nesbitt
from Binford & Mort Publishing
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Ben Franklin
See and Read: Beginning to Read Biography
by Estelle Friedman, illustrated by James Caraway
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Benjamin Franklin
Makers of America
by Ruth Cromer Weir, illustrated by Rus Anderson
from Abingdon Press
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Big Wave
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Biography of Tea
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Black Courage
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Black Hawk, Sac Rebel
from Chelsea House Publishing
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Land of the Free Series
by Elsie Reif Ziegler, illustrated by Jacob Landau
from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Bound for America
Great Journeys
by Milton Meltzer
from Benchmark Books
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
California Plant & Animal Communities
by Barbara J. Collins
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Chokra and Tags
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Christmas on the Prairie
by Joan. Anderson
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$8.00 (2 in stock)
Christopher Columbus and His Legacy
Opposing Viewpoints Series
by Mary Ellen Jones, Editor
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Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of the New World
by Jim Gallagher
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City! San Francisco
by George Ancona, Shirley Climo
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American War Series
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Claim to the Wilderness
by Peter John Stephens
First Edition, First Printing from W. W. Norton and Co.
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Clara Barton: Civil War Nurse
Historical American Biographies
by Nancy Whitelaw
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Cliff Dwellers of Walnut Canyon
by Carroll Lane Fenton and Alice Epstein, illustrated by Albert Orbaan and Carroll Lane Fenton
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Colonial People: The Silversmith
by Wil Mara
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Colonial Places
by Sarah Howarth
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Confederate Girl: The Diary of Carrie Berry, 1864
by Carrie Berry; edited by Christy Steele and Anne Todd
from Capstone Press
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Constitution
American Symbols and their Meanings
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Countries of the World: Sweden
by Janet Riehecky
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by Homer Davenport
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Cowboy Soldier
by Donald Russell, illustrated by Max Ranft
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Crazy Horse: The Story of an American Indian
by John R. Milton
Second Printing 1975 from Dillon Press
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Countries of the World
by William P. Mara
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Dakota Dugout
by Ann Turner; illustrated by Ronald Himler
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Dark Venture
by Audrey White Beyer, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon
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Dear Levi
by Elvira Woodruff
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Drinking Gourd
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by F. N. Monjo
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Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
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Early American Industrial Revolution
Let Freedom Ring
by Katie Bagley
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Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
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Empire State Building
by Meish Goldish
from Bearport Publishing
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Fall of Constantinople
by Ruth Tenzer Feldman
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Ferdinand Magellan
by Milton Meltzer
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Ferdinand Magellan and the Discovery of the World Ocean
by Rebecca Stefoff
from Chelsea House Publishing
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Ferdinand Magellan and the First Voyage Around the World
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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Festivals of the World: Trinidad
by Royston Ellis, edited by Fiona Conboy
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
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First Book of Ancient Rome
by Charles Alexander Robinson, Jr., Revised by Lorna Greenberg
Revised Edition from Franklin Watts
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Follow the Dream
by Peter Sís
from Dragonfly Books
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Forts in the Wilderness
by Edith S. McCall
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Francisco Coronado and the Exploration of the American Southwest
Explorers of New Worlds
by Hal Marcovitz
from Chelsea House Publishing
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Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Latinos in American History
by Jim Whiting
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Freedom's Fruit
by William H. Hooks
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From Sea to Shining Sea: Americans Move West 1846-1860
How America Became America
by Jack Rakove, Sheila Nelson
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George Washington Carver
by Carol Greene
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George Washington: Man and Monument
by Frank Freidel and Lonnelle Aikman
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Geronimo: Apache Freedom Fighter
Native American Biographies
by Spring Hermann
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Glorious Days, Dreadful Days
Stories of America
by Philippa Kirby
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Golden Coyote
by Eileen Thompson, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
from Simon and Schuster
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Good Women of a Well-Blessed Land
by Brandon Marie Miller
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Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park
by Santana Hunt
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Hans Brinker
Windermere Readers #7
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition, 2nd printing from Rand McNally
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$10.00 (2 in stock)
Harriet Tubman
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by Lisa Halvorsen
from Blackbirch Press
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Henry Hudson
Library of Explorers and Exploration
by Josepha Sherman
from Rosen Central
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Her Story, Her Words
by Frances E. Ruffin
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Hernando de Soto and the Exploration of Florida
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
History Beneath Your Feet: Ancient Rome
by Sean Sheehan
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Houses of Parliament
by Nigel Smith
from Steck-Vaughn Company
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
How Men Discovered the World
by Hans R. Hecke, illustrated by Nikolaus Plump, freely translated by Moya Gillespie
from Lerner Publishing Group
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
How They Built the Statue of Liberty
by Mary J. Shapiro, illustrated by Huck Scarry
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hunters Blaze the Trails
by Edith S. McCall
New 1980 Edition from Children's Press
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hunters Blaze the Trails
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
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$8.00 (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 Their Own Words: World War I
by Nicholas Saunders
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Incas
by Rosemary Rees
from Heinemann Educational Books
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in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Indian Costumes
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Indians at Home
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Indians of Mexico
A Book to Begin On
by Margaret C. Farquhar, illustrated by Mel Klapholz
First Edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
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$16.00 (1 in stock)
Iran
by David Downing
1st edition from Marshall Cavendish Education
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Island Far From Home
by John Donahue
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
It's My State! Oregon
It's My State!
by Joyce Hart and Jacqueline Laks Gorman
from Marshall Cavendish Education
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Italian Children
by Mabel O'Donnell
from Row, Peterson and Company
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
James Longstreet
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by Melanie LeTourneau
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Jefferson Davis
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by W. Scott Ingram
from Blackbirch Press
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
John Charles Frémont
by Charles W. Maynard
1st edition from PowerKids Press
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
John Hancock: A Signature Life
by Philip Koslow
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Joseph E. Johnston
Famous Figures of the Civil War Era
by Christin Ditchfield
from Chelsea House Publishing
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in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Journal of One Davey Wyatt
by Donald Honig, illustrated by Sam Fink
from Franklin Watts
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in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Juan Ponce de Leon and the Search for the Fountain of Youth
by Daniel E. Harmon
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$6.00 (2 in stock)
Junipero Serra
Fact Finders
by Tyler Schumacher
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lake Huron
Fact Finders
by Anne Ylvisaker
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Legend of the Willow Plate
from Parents Magazine Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Leprechaun Tales
by Kathleen Green; illustrated by Victoria De Larrea
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Let's Discover Canada: Prince Edward Island
by Suzanne LeVert
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Let's Visit Brazil
by John C. Caldwell
Updated from The John Day Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Lewis and Clark Expedition
We the People
by Patricia Ryon Quiri
from Compass Point Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
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