Chronological History

Sometimes we speak of world history as though it belongs to people. It doesn't—it belongs to God, and though people play prominently within the historical narrative, it always remains under God's auspices and control. The problem with losing the right perspective isn't that we'll get the facts wrong, it's that we'll fail to understand what they mean, what the purpose of past events is, and what we can look forward to.

Human history began all at once in the same place: the Garden of Eden, where God made Adam and Eve as the crown of all Creation. He told them to fill the earth and take dominion of it, and He also told them not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They ate the fruit anyway, and mankind was removed from paradise and introduced to tension, pain, and resistance.

The story of the world is in many ways simply the story of adversity. For the enemies of God, it's adversity in the form of the failure and futility of purely human endeavor; for God's people, it's the story of fighting for the truth against secular philosophies, fighting for holiness despite the pervasiveness of sin, and fighting for the Gospel in the face of persecution and death.

Jesus Christ is our only hope. He is the Prince of Peace, the defeater of Death, and the King of the Universe, the saver of souls and the punisher of wickedness. His kingdom is the restoration and glorious fulfillment of the paradise from which Adam and Eve were removed, and we work, wait, hope and pray for the quick fulfillment of His will in all things.

This is our framework for history. While it's important to study things like the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the ancient Near East, it's only important when investigated through the lens of God's ultimate sovereignty and plan. The story of mankind is the story of redemption, and only when we analyze battles, kings, treaties, and catastrophes from God's perspective can we truly make sense of them.

Otherwise, it's all fairly irrelevant and useless. Sure, there's Napoleon's dictum that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it, but a quick survey of the past will show that each successive generation does repeat the sins of their fathers, and that without Christ's real physical life on Earth as a centering point, there's no real cause for optimism or hope of any kind.

Christ's love not only makes the trajectory of history cause for hope; it reveals the truly great moments of the past, events that to the secular eye seem insignificant or even pernicious. We're speaking of the progress of the true Church, of course, and of each soul that God calls and makes His own through the agency of His Holy Spirit. These are the milestones we look for and celebrate.

We carry a lot of world history products. Because it's the story of God's work in the world and our human responses, we believe it's important to know and understand. Not everything we carry is Christian; there are plenty of secular resources here. We encourage you to use whichever ones work best for your situation, but that you do so with a view to understanding the will and work of the One who made history in the first place.

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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130 Items found Print
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Abraham Lincoln's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$21.95
Adventures of Theodore Roosevelt
by Theodore Roosevelt
from National Geographic
for 9th-Adult
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$16.00
Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 7th-10th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.99
Alfred the Great
by Asser
from Penguin Classics
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
And the Word Came With Power
by Joanne Shetler, Patricia Purvis
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
for 2nd-12th grade
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Anne Bradstreet
Christian Renegades Series
by Doug Wilson
3rd edition from Canon Press
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
by Ruud van der Rol & Rian Verhoeven
from Puffin Books
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
by Ruud van der Rol & Rian Verhoeven
from Scholastic Inc.
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Artist of the Reformation
by Joyce McPherson
from Greenleaf Press
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Betty Before X
by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson
from Square Fish Publishing
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$8.99
Beyond the Myth
by Polly Schoyer Brooks
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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$6.50
Beyond the Sacred Page
Book of Books #2
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Biography of James A. Garfield
Sons of Liberty Series
by William Thayer
from A Beka Books
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$9.50 (1 in stock)
Born to Run
by Christopher McDougall
from Vintage Books
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in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
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in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99
Buffalo Bill
by Helen Cody Wetmore
from University of Nebraska
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
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$9.99
Chance to Die
by Elisabeth Elliot
from Revell Publishing
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$22.99
Children of the Storm
by Natasha Vins
from Bob Jones University Press
Autobiography for 8th-10th grade
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$8.99
Churchill
by Paul Johnson
Reprint from Penguin Putnam
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Co. Aytch
by Sam Watkins
from Touchstone
Historical Non-fiction for 8th-Adult
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$17.00
Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
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Coronation of Glory
Reformation Trail Series #12
by Deborah Meroff
from Inheritance Publications
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David Livingstone
by C. Silvester Horne
from Christian Liberty Press
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Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Elizabeth I
by Jacob Abbott, updated for the present day reader by Knox Merkle
from Canon Press
for 6th-12th grade
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$12.00
Endurance
by Alfred Lansing
from Tyndale House
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$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Evidence Not Seen
by Darlene Deibler Rose
from HarperCollins
Biography for 9th-Adult
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$16.99
Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Franklin
by David R. Logsdon
4th edition
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Faithful Spy
by John Hendrix
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
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$18.99
For God and His People
by J. H. Merle D'Aubigne
from Bob Jones University Press
Biography for 9th-12th grade
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$13.00
Four Voyages
by Christopher Columbus
from Penguin Classics
Historical Primary Sources for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$17.00
George Washington
Sterling Point Books
by Sterling North
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 5th-9th grade
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
George Washington & the Founding of a Nation
by Albert Marrin
from Dutton Juvenile
for 6th-10th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
George Whitefield
by Arnold A. Dallimore
from Crossway Books
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$14.50
Glimpses of Truth
Book of Books #1
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
God and Ronald Reagan
by Paul Kengor
Reprint from Harper Perennial
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$17.99
God's Smuggler
by Brother Andrew
from Chosen Books
Biography for 7th-Adult
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Going Solo
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
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Governor of England
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 9th-12th grade
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Great Adventurers of the Twentieth Century
by Ron Tagliapietra
from Bob Jones University Press
Biography Anthologies for 8th-Adult
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$12.95
Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
by Helen Keller
from Dover Publications
Autobiography for 7th-10th grade
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$1.50 (4 in stock)
Here I Stand
by Roland H. Bainton
from Meridian Book
Biography for 8th-12th grade
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$18.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Hero Tales
by Theodore Roosevelt & Henry Cabot Lodge
from Cumberland House
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 7
History of US Book 7
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
Hitler
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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Idelette
by Edna Gerstner
from Soli Deo Gloria
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
In Search of the Source
by Neil Anderson, Hyatt Moore
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
Missionary Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
In the Days of Queen Victoria
by Eva March Tappan
from Bookshelf Central
for 6th-10th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
by Harriet Jacobs
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Jason Lee
Sowers Series
by Charles Ludwig
from Mott Media
Biography for 7th-9th grade
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Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
from Ignatius Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$18.95
John Bunyan
by William Deal
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75 $5.00 (1 in stock)
John Calvin, Genius of Geneva
Reformation Trail Series #07
by Lawrence Penning
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 6th-9th grade
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$19.95
John Knox: Stalwart Courage
by Douglas Wilson, foreword by George Grant
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
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$15.95
John Paul Jones
Sterling Point Books
by Armstrong Sperry
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in War of 1812 (Location: HISA-19WET)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Jonathan and Sarah
by Edna Gerstner
from Soli Deo Gloria
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Jonathan Edwards
by Stephen J. Nichols
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Journey and Ordeal of Cabeza de Vaca
Dover editions
by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
from Dover Publications
for 5th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$10.95
Kitchen Boy
by Robert Alexander
Reprint from Penguin Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Kitty, My Rib
by E. Jane Mall
from Concordia Publishing House
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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$14.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography
by William Anderson
from HarperTrophy
for 4th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Legacy of John Calvin
The Calvin 500 Series
by David W. Hall
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 9th-Adult
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life of General Stonewall Jackson
by Mary Williamson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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Life of George Washington
by Mary Williamson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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$11.75
Life of J.E.B. Stuart
by Mary Williamson
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75
Life of Sir Thomas More
by William Roper
from CreateSpace
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$5.99
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1988 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99 $7.50 (5 in stock)
Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
by Benson J. Lossing
3rd Printing from WallBuilder Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Luther by Those Who Knew Him
Reformation Trail Series #20
by Elizabeth R. Charles
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$19.95
March (Book One)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
March (Book Two)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
March - Boxed Set
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Marriage to a Difficult Man
by Elisabeth D. Dodds
from Audobon Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Martin Luther
by J. A. Morrison
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.50
Martin Luther
by J. A. Morrison
3rd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75
Martin Luther: The Man and His Work
Reformation Trail Series #19
by Arthur C. McGiffert
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$19.95
Mein Kampf
by Adolf Hitler, translated by Michael Ford
from Elite Minds, Inc.
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$29.95
Mornings on Horseback
by David McCullough
1st edition from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
National; Book Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$20.00
Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West
by LeRoy R. Hafen & Harvey L. Carter
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$21.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee
by David Crockett
Reprint from Bison Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.95 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Never Give In
Leaders in Action Series
by Stephen Mansfield
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99
New York to Nome
by Rick Steber, Photography by Sheldon Taylor
2007 Revised from Bonanza Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Not a Tame Lion
Leaders in Action Series
by Terry Glaspey
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.96
Ocean-Born Mary
by Lois Lenski
1st Edition Thus from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.99
Oregon Trail
by Francis Parkman Jr.
from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Outrageous Women of the American Frontier
Outrageous Women
1st edition from Jossey-Bass
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Piece of the Mountain
by Joyce McPherson
from Greenleaf Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Pierre Viret
by Jean-Marc Berthoud
1st edition
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.50
Pigtail and Chopsticks Man
by Jim Cromarty
2010 Printing from Evangelical Press
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Plutarch's Lives Volume I
by Plutarch, translated by John Dryden
from Modern Library
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$19.00
Pontius Pilate
by Paul L. Maier
2nd edition from Kregel Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Pontius Pilate
by Paul L. Maier
2nd edition from Kregel Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Poor Richard
by James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Prince and Heretic
Prince of Orange Nassau Volume 1
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Princess Ka'iulani
by Sharon Linnea
from Eerdmans
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00
Queen Eleanor
by Polly Schoyer Brooks
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 7th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail
by Theodore Roosevelt
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$18.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Reconstruction: Binding the Wounds
Perspectives on History Series
by Cheryl Edwards, ed.
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$7.95
River of Grace
by Joyce McPherson
2nd edition from Greenleaf Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95 $7.00 (2 in stock)
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