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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1066: The Year of the Conquest
by David Howarth
from Penguin Putnam
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1776
by David McCullough
from Simon and Schuster
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$14.00
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
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Adventures of Theodore Roosevelt
by Theodore Roosevelt
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$16.00
Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald
from Vintage Classics
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Robert Fagles
from Penguin Putnam
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$19.00
Aeschylus II: The Oresteia
The Complete Greek Tragedies
by Aeschylus (translation by Richmond Lattimore)
3rd edition from University of Chicago
Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult
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$14.00
Aeschylus' Oresteia
Penguin Classics
by Aeschylus (translation by Robert Fagles)
from Penguin Classics
Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult
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$16.00
Aeschylus' Oresteia
by Aeschylus, translated by Peter Meineck
from Hackett Publishing Company
Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult
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$13.50
Aeschylus' Oresteian Trilogy
Penguin Classics
by Aeschylus, translated by Phillip Vellacott
from Penguin Classics
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Alfred the Great
by Asser
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$18.00
Amazing Grace
by Eric Metaxas
from HarperOne
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$15.99
America: From Gridlock to Deadlock
A Basic History of the United States Volume 6
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
in Basic History of the United States (Location: HISCUR-US)
$19.00
Ancient Rome
by Richard Maybury
2nd edition from Bluestocking Press
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$11.95
And There Was Light
by Jacques Lusseyran
Third Edition from New World Library
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Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon
from HarperCollins
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Annals of Imperial Rome
Penguin Classics
by Tacitus
from Penguin Classics
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Anne Bradstreet
by Heidi L. Nichols
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Anne Bradstreet
Christian Renegades Series
by Doug Wilson
3rd edition from Canon Press
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Anselm of Canterbury: The Major Works
Oxford World's Classics
by Anselm, edited and introduction by Brian Davies and Gillian Evans
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Arthur Erskine's Story
Reformation Trail Series #14
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$25.95
Ascent to Love
by Peter Leithart
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$16.00
Autobiography of George Muller
by George Muller
from Whitaker House
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$9.99
Bacchae and Other Plays
Penguin Classics
by Euripides (translation by John Davies)
from Penguin Classics
Ancient Tragedy for 11th-Adult
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$12.00
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Penguin Classics
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Ancient Tragedy for 11th-Adult
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$13.00
Band of Brothers
by Stephen Ambrose, Foreword by Tom Hanks
25th anniversary from Simon and Schuster
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$18.99
Basic Works of Aristotle
by Aristotle
from Modern Library
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$24.00
Battle Cry of Freedom
Oxford History of the United States
by James M. McPherson
from Oxford University
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$24.95
Beat to Quarters
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Beautiful Thread
Hawk and the Dove Series #8
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$14.99
Beginner Book: Warfare by Duct Tape
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$11.95
Beginning of the Republic
A Basic History of the United States Volume 2
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
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$17.00
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Frederick Rebsamen)
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Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
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Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Seamus Heaney
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Medieval Poetic Epic for 9th-Adult
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Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Douglas Wilson
from Canon Press
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Betty Before X
by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson
from Square Fish Publishing
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Birth of the Modern
by Paul Johnson
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Bondage of the Will
by Martin Luther, translated by J. I. Packer and O. R. Robinson
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$24.99
Bondage of the Will
by Martin Luther, translated by Henry Cole
from Canon Press
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Bonhoeffer
by Eric Metaxas, foreword by Timothy J. Keller
Revised and Updated from Thomas Nelson Publishers
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Book Thief
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Breath of Peace
Hawk and the Dove Series #7
by Penelope Wilcock
from Lion Publishing
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$14.99
Brendan Voyage
Modern Library Exploration
by Tim Severin
from Modern Library
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Brethren
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
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Bridge to the Sun
by Gwen Terasaki
from Rock Creek Books
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Brightest Heaven of Invention
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
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$21.00
Brit. Lit. Volume 9
by P. G. Wodehouse
from Logos School
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$12.00
Bruchko
by Bruce Olson
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Bruchko and the Motilone Miracle
by Bruce Olson
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By Far Euphrates
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
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Caine Mutiny
by Herman Wouk
from Back Bay Books
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1952 Pulitzer Prize Winner
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
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Call to Conscience
by Martin Luther King, Jr., Edited by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shepard
from Grand Central Publishing
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in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Canterbury Tales
Penguin Classics
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by Nevill Coghill)
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Poetry for 8th-12th grade
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$11.00
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by David Wright
from Oxford University
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$8.95
Catch-22
by Joseph Heller
50th Anniversary Edition from Simon and Schuster
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$18.99
Chance to Die
by Elisabeth Elliot
from Revell Publishing
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$22.99
Charis in the World of Wonders
by Marly Youmans
from Ignatius Press
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$17.95
Churchill
by Paul Johnson
Reprint from Penguin Putnam
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$17.00
Citizen Soldiers
by Stephen Ambrose
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult
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$20.99
Civil War
Penguin Classics
by Julius Caesar
from Penguin Classics
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$14.00
Civil War: A Narrative - 3 Volume Set
by Shelby Foote
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Co. Aytch
by Sam Watkins
from Touchstone
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Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
from Hyperion/Madison Press
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$10.99
Colonial Experience
A Basic History of the United States Volume 1
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
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$17.00
Commodore Hornblower
Hornblower Series #9
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 10th-Adult
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Communist Manifesto
Penguin Classics
by Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels
from Penguin Classics
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$8.00
Conquest of Gaul
Penguin Classics
by Julius Caesar
from Penguin Classics
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$12.00
Consolation of Philosophy
by Ancius Boethius
from Penguin Classics
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$16.00
Daisy Chain
by Charlotte Yonge
from Beautiful Feet Books
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Darius, Artaxerxes, and Ahasuerus in the Bible
by James B. Jordan
from Athanasius Press
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$8.95
Defender of the Faith
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 2
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
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$13.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Democracy in America
Penguin Classics
by Alexis De Tocqueville
from Penguin Classics
American Government for 11th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$15.00
Democracy in America
by Alexis De Tocqueville
from Harper Perennial
American Government for 11th-12th grade
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$22.99
Discoverers
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Vintage Classics
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$22.00
Doctor Adrian
Reformation Trail Series #13
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$15.95
Doomed Queen Anne
A Young Royals Book
by Carolyn Meyer
from Harcourt
for 9th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99
Early History of Rome
by Livy
from Penguin Classics
Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$16.00
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Penguin Classics
by Bede (translation by Leo Sherley-Price)
from Penguin Classics
Church History for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.00
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
by Bede (edited by Judith McClure & Roger Collins)
from Oxford University
Church History for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$13.95
Elizabeth I
by Jacob Abbott, updated for the present day reader by Knox Merkle
from Canon Press
for 6th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
Endurance
by Alfred Lansing
from Tyndale House
for 9th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Euclid's Elements
by Euclid & Sir Thomas Heath (translator)
2nd edition from Green Lion Press
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$29.95
Euripides I
by Euripides
from University of Chicago
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$12.00
Euripides: The Trojan Women and Hippolytus
by Euripides
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$2.50
Evidence Not Seen
by Darlene Deibler Rose
from HarperCollins
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Faerie Queene Book 1
by Edmund Spenser, edited with an introduction by Carol V. Kaske
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$15.00
Faerie Queene Book 2
by Edmund Spenser
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$14.00
Faerie Queene Book 3 & 4
by Edmund Spenser
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$16.00
Faerie Queene Book 5
by Edmund Spenser
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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$14.00
Faerie Queene Book 6
by Edmund Spenser
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$14.00
Faerie Queene Books 1-6
by Edmund Spenser
from Hackett Publishing Company
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in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$68.40
Faithful Spy
by John Hendrix
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$18.99
Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
from Houghton Mifflin
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$10.99
Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves
by Roy Maynard & Edmund Spenser
from Canon Press
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First Voyage to America
by Christopher Columbus
from Dover Publications
Historical Primary Sources for 10th-Adult
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$9.95
Flames of Rome
by Paul L. Maier
2nd edition from Kregel Publications
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Flying Colours
Hornblower Series #8
by C. S. Forester
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Nautical fiction for 10th-Adult
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For God and His People
by J. H. Merle D'Aubigne
from Bob Jones University Press
Biography for 9th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.00
For God and the King
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 3
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
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