20th Century America

The 20th was America's century. The United States in particular was able to play the role of industrial leader, international hero, aloof arbiter, Good Samaritan, and cultural giant. Of course, there were plenty of detractors, and snobs who didn't like the thought of an upstart nation of plebs gaining so much influence and power so quickly, but for the most part America and Americans were heralded as everyone's friend.

It was also the century of postmodernism, Darwinian indoctrination, modern "art", legalized abortion, rampant sexual license, etc., most of these finding their origin or substantial support in the U.S.A. American troops may have stopped the spread of Communism in South Korea and taken out the Third Reich, but they weren't able to stop the spread of anti-Christian sentiment or the deaths of more Christian martyrs than in all the previous centuries combined.

The British historian Paul Johnson says the Modern Era was born on March 29, 1919, when photographs of a solar eclipse proved Albert Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. It's always a dangerous business inaugurating or ending historical periods with specific dates, but this much is clear—with the universal acceptance of Einstein's theory which followed, the moral and philosophical relativism with which the West had been experimenting for 300 years or so was finally codified as the standard approach to life, the universe and everything.

Einstein first published his theory in 1905. Shortly thereafter, the world began to fall apart. World War I was more than just a war—it was the conflict of outmoded nationalistic ideals with the new super-efficient war machines produced by the Industrial Revolution and technological progress. The Great Depression affected nations all over the world, the Lost Generation abandoned morality and surrendered to existential angst, and World War II stripped away the last illusions of innocence.

After that, there was no going back. Everything was questioned, everything was assumed to be in flux, there were no absolutes, no stationary standards, just the present and confusion and ambiguity. Existentialism told people to create their own meaning through self-actualization; postmodernism said there was no meaning, or that all meaning was relative and ultimately meaningless, merely a social construct designed to control people.

This is where human-centered thinking will ultimately get you, of course.When God is dismissed, hope is impossible, and the only response is either complete despair (existentialism) or complete nonsense (postmodernism). Add in the godless sexual preoccupations of Freudian theory, the culmination of Darwinian evolutionary naturalism, and the Enlightenment-inspired trust in human goodness and progress, and you've got a chaotic world.

Which is what we have now. After the Sexual Revolution, the secularization of public dialogue, and the watering-down of the Christian Gospel in so many churches, we're left with moral, religious and philosophical wreckage of the worst kind. Fortunately, we also have the true Gospel, which tells us that Christ has always and will always be the answer to evil and the only path to Truth and Salvation.

Despite the high death toll among Christians in the 20th century, the last 100 years also saw the most concerted missionary efforts yet undertaken, spanning every continent and nearly every people group. The Bible was translated into hundreds of languages (there are still thousands to go), the poor were cared for, and the Good News of the resurrected Lord was taken everywhere men and women could go.

Even the darkest centuries (and the 20th was certainly among them) aren't sufficient to overcome the work of Yahweh Almighty among His people and in the created world. Man has always rebelled; he will continue to do so. But God's faithful children will continue to spread His message and love and witness through the power of the Holy Spirit until Christ comes again and history is fulfilled in all the glory and majesty of the triumphant Godhead.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes 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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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), In-Stock Books & Materials
Above the Trenches
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 2nd-6th grade
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$15.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #21
by Marianne Hering
from Focus on the Family
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Aircraft - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
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Airplanes of the Second World War - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Airplanes of World War I - Coloring Book
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from Dover Publications
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in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
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Amelia Earhart: Young Aviator
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Beatrice Gormley
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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America At War: Korean War
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America In Korean War
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America in the Time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
by Sally Senzel Isaacs
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
America in the Time of Lewis and Clark
by Sally Senzel Isaacs
from Heinemann-Raintree
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Angel Child, Dragon Child
by Michele Maria Surat
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Anne Frank's Story
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Antique Airplanes - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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from Dover Publications
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$5.99
Baseball Saved Us
by Ken Mochizuki
from Lee & Low Books
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$9.95
Behave Yourself, Bethany Brant
by Patricia Beatty
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Best Bad Thing
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Best Little Stories from World War II
by C. Brian Kelly
1996 Printing from Montpelier Publishing
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Boxes for Katje
by Candace Fleming
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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$19.99
Brave Harriet
by Marissa Moss
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Carrie's War
by Nina Bawden
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Dust Bowl
by Jerry Stanley
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1993 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Choosing Brave
by Angela Joy, illustrated by Janelle Washington
from Roaring Brook Press
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2023 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
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$19.99
Choppers!
Step into Reading Level 4
by Susan E. Goodman
from Random House
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$5.99
Cold War Correspondent
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
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$14.99
Coming to America
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Coming to America
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D-Day Landings
DK Readers Level 4
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Design Line: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
by Chris Oxlade, Edited by Jenny Broom, Illustrated by Mike Lemanski
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Douglas Macarthur: American Hero
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Dreaming of America
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Early American Industrial Revolution
Let Freedom Ring
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from Bridgestone Books
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Echo Mountain
by Lauren Wolk
from Dutton Children's Books
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$8.99
Famous Women Aviators - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by LaFontaine, Bruce
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$4.99
Finding the Titanic
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Fireflies in the Dark
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First Farm in the Valley
by Anne Pellowski
from Bethlehem Books
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$9.50
First Flight
DK Eyewitness Readers Level 4
by Caryn Jenner
from DK Children
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Flight
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Mike Wimmer
from Philomel Books
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1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Forging Freedom
by Hudson Talbott
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Free at Last
by Sara Bullard
from Oxford University
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Freedom on the Menu
by Carole Boston Weatherford
Reprint from Puffin Books
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$6.99
George S. Paton: War Hero
Childhood of Famous Americans
by George Edward Stanley
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.99
Glorious Flight
by Martin & Alice Provensen
from Puffin Books
Historical Non-Fiction/Picture Books for 1st-3rd grade
1984 Caldecott Medal winner
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Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
from Scholastic Inc.
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Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Reprint from Puffin Books
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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
from HarperCollins
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Hero Over Here
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Hiroshima
by Laurence Yep
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
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$4.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
History of Flight - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
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History of the Civil Rights Movement - Coloring Book
by Steven James Petruccio
from Dover Publications
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$3.99
House on Walenska Street
by Charlotte Herman
from Avyx, Inc.
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
How I Became an American
by Karin Gundisch
from Cricket Books
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in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (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 Many Days to America?
by Eve Bunting
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
How They Built the Statue of Liberty
by Mary J. Shapiro, illustrated by Huck Scarry
from Random House
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I Am David
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
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$7.99
I Will Come Back for You
by Marisabina Russo
Reprint from Dragonfly Books
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$7.99
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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If You Lived At The Time Of The Great San Francisco Earthquake
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Inc.
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If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island
If You Were There
by Ellen Levine & Wayne Parmenter
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
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Immigrant Kids
by Russell Freedman
from Puffin Books
Non-fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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$8.99
Immigrants to America
History of America
by Linda Thompson
from Rourke Publishing
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$6.00 (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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In Their Own Words: World War I
by Nicholas Saunders
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
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Industrial Revolution
by Carla Mooney
from Nomad Press
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Jackie Robinson: Young Sports Trailblazer
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Herb Dunn
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$7.99
Jazz Man
by Mary Hays Weik
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Journey That Saved Curious George
by Louise W. Borden
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-8th grade
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$8.99
Journey to America
Journey to America Saga #1
by Sonia Levitin
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Journey to the New World
Dear America
by Kathryn, Lasky
from Scholastic Inc.
Fictional historical journal for 3rd-6th Grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Kirsten's Cook Book
American Girl
by Jodi Evert
from Scholastic Inc.
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$2.40 (1 in stock)
Lady Liberty: A Biography
by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Matt Tavares
from Candlewick Press
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$4.50 (2 in stock)
Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt
by C. Coco De Young
from Yearling
Historical fiction for 3rd-8th grade
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$5.99
Letters from Rifka
by Karen Hesse
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Letters from Rifka
by Karen Hesse
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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Lindbergh
Classic Starts
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
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Little Fishes
from Houghton Mifflin
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Little Ships
by Louise Borden
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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in WWII: European Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2E)
$8.99
Long Way to a New Land
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Joan Sandin
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
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$4.99 $2.50 (3 in stock)
Long Way to a New Land
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Joan Sandin
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Lotus Seed
by Sherry Garland
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$7.99
Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Man of Peace
by Garnet Jackson, Illustrations by George Ford
from Scholastic Inc.
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in Scholastic / Hello Reader! (Location: EAR-SCH)
$3.00 (4 in stock)
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Young Man with a Dream
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Meet Martin Luther King, Jr.
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by James T. de Kay
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.99
Memory Coat
by Elvira Woodruff, illustrated by Michael Dooling
from Scholastic Press
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot
by Margot Theis Raven
from Sleeping Bear Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.95
Mieko and the Fifth Treasure
by Eleanor Coerr
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.99
Molly's Pilgrim
A Bantam First Skylark
by Barbara Cohen, illustrated by Daniel Mark Duffy
from HarperTrophy
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in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (5 in stock)
Moonshot
by Brian Floca
Expanded Edition from Atheneum
for 1st-5th grade
2010 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$19.99
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)
Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round
by Doreen Rappaport
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
North of Danger
by Dale Fife, map and decorations by Haakon Saether
1st edition from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
October 45
by Jean-Louis Besson, translated by Carol Volk
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 2nd-6th grade
in WWII: European Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2E)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
On the Edge of the Fjord
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Orphan Train Rider
by Andrea Warren
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$9.95
Patrol
by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Ann Grifalconi
from HarperCollins
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in Vietnam War (1957-1975) (Location: HISA-20VIE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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