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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ABC Book of Early Americana
by Eric Sloane
2012 Dover from Dover Publications
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Abe's Honest Words
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Africa Is My Home
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Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider
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America At War: Korean War
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American History: Globalization 1977-2008
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American History: The Civil Rights Movement & Vietnam 1960-1976
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Ancient Egyptians
History Opens Windows
by Jane Shuter
Revised and Updated from Heinemann-Raintree
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Ancient Egyptians and their Neighbors
by Marian Broida
from Chicago Review Press
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Assassination of John F. Kennedy: November 22, 1963
24 Hour History
by Terry Collins
from Capstone Press
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Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.: April 4, 1968
24 Hour History
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Bill of Rights
by Lucia Raatma
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Book of the Medieval Knight
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Byzantine Empire
by Jennifer Fretland VanVoorst
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Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?
by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Tomie dePaola
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Civil War: An Interactive History Adventure
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by Matt Doeden
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Cowboys on the Western Trail
by Eric Oatman
from National Geographic
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Dear Benjamin Banneker
by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Houghton Mifflin
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Declaration of Independence
Documenting U.S. History
by Elizabeth Raum
from Heinemann-Raintree
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by Shelley Tanaka
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Discovering Mars
by Melvin Berger, revised and updated by Mary Kay Carson
from Scholastic Inc.
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DK Smithsonian Space!
from DK Publishing
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Draw the Titanic
by Andrew Staiano, illustrated by Jason Pederson
from Scholastic Inc.
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Early Family Home
Early Settler Life Series
by Bobbie Kalman
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Early Settler Storybook
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Electrical Wizard
by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Oliver Dominguez
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Elizabeth I, the People's Queen
by Kerrie Logan Hollihan
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Exploration of Space
Great Explorers Series
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Explore Greek Myths!
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Eyes on Adventure: Exploring Space
Eyes on Adventure
by Leigh Hope Wood
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Famous Figures of the Renaissance
from Figures in Motion
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Creative Minds Biographies
by Catherine A. Welch, illustrated by Jan Naimo Jones
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Full-Color Knights & Armour - Book and CD-Rom
Dover Electronic Clip Art
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George Washington You Never Knew
by James Lincoln Collier
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Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
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Home Run: The Story of Babe Ruth
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I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 - Graphic Novel
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I Wonder Why Greeks Built Temples
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If You Grew Up With George Washington
If You Were There
by Ruth Belov Gross
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If You Were a Kid in a Medieval Castle
by Josh Gregory, illustrated by Sebastian Gomez
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If You Were a Kid in the Thirteen Colonies
by Wil Mara, illustrated by Lluis Farre
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In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers
by Don Brown
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Incans, Aztecs, Mayans
by John Holzmann
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Incans, Aztecs, Mayans
by John Holzmann
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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John Hancock
by Candice Ransom
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Kingfisher Atlas of the Medieval World
by Simon Adams
from Kingfisher
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Knights & Castles
by Avery Hart, Paul Mantell
from Williamson Publishing Company
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Lady Liberty: A Biography
by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Matt Tavares
from Candlewick Press
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Last River
by Stuart Waldman, illustrated by Gregory Manchess
from Mikaya Press
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Learn About Pyramids
by Peter Mellett
from Hermes House
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Learn About Pyramids
by Peter Mellett
from My Father's World
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Life in Ancient Rome
by Joseph Farrell
from Running Press
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Life in Early America
by Jeanne S. Chall, selections
from Andrews McMeel
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Life on a Plantation
Historic Communities
by Bobbie Kalman
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Louisa May Alcott: Her Girlhood Diary
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Luther: The Graphic Novel
by Susan K. Leigh, illustrated by Dave Hill
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Marco Polo
by Struan Reid
from Heinemann Library
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Mars Exploration 1960-2016
by Megan Noel
from The Good and the Beautiful
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Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Ancient Egypt
by Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen (Illustrator)
from Scholastic Inc.
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Mummies & Pyramids
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Sam Taplin
from Usborne
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Mystery of the Maya
by Peter Lourie
from Boyds Mill Press
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Nathan Hale
Hidden History: Spies
by Aaron Derr, Illustrated by Tami Wicinas
from Red Chair Press
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Pioneer Children of Appalachia
by Joan Anderson, photography by George Ancona
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Plymouth Thanksgiving
by Leonard Weisgard
Reprint from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Polycarp of Smyrna
Heroes of the Faith
by Sinclair B. Ferguson
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 3rd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$8.50
Primary Source History of the American Revolution
Fact Finders
by Sarah Powers Webb
from Capstone Press
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$3.20 (1 in stock)
Reconstruction and the Aftermath of the Civil War
Understanding the Civil War
by Lisa Colozza Cocca
from Crabtree Publishing
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$4.80 (1 in stock)
Riding on a Caravan
by Laurie Krebs, illustrated by Helen Cann
from Barefoot Books
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Robert Fulton
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Robert Patterson
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$5.00 (4 in stock)
Roman Life
by John Guy
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Rosa
by Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Bryan Collier
from Square Fish Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
2006 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.49
Ruby Bridges Goes to School
Scholastic Reader Level 2
by Ruby Bridges
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
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$2.40 (1 in stock)
Schoolhouse Blizzard
by Shannen Yauger, illustrated by Alessia Turchie
from The Good and the Beautiful
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in GATB Science & Health (Location: CUR-GABSc)
$5.10 (2 in stock)
Secrets in Stone
by Laurie Coulter, illustrated by Sarah Jane English
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Secrets of the American Revolution
by Tyler Omoth
from Capstone Press
for 1st-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Settling of Jamestown
Landmark Events in American History
by Janet Riehecky
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
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in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Sophie Takes to the Sky
by Katherine Woodfine, illustrated by Briony May Smith
from Kane Miller
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in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Step Into Mesopotamia
by Lorna Oakes
from Hermes House
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in Ancient Mesopotamia & Persia (Location: HISW-ANME)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Step Into the Aztec & Maya Worlds
by Fiona Macdonald
from Hermes House
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Step Into the Inca World
by Philip Steele
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in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
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Story of Abraham Lincoln
by Carla Jablonski, illustrated by Patrick Corrigan
from Rockridge Press
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$2.80 (1 in stock)
Story of the Spirit of St. Louis
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
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in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Tank Man
by Michael Burgan
from Compass Point Books
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Thomas Jefferson
by Cheryl Harness
from National Geographic
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
True Book: The Declaration of Independence
A True Book
by Elaine Landau
from Children's Press
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$2.40 (1 in stock)
True Book: The Oregon Trail
A True Book
by Mel Friedman
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True Stories of the Revolutionary War
Graphic Library: Stories of War
by Elizabeth Raum, illustrated by Pat Kinsella
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$3.60 (1 in stock)
Understanding the Bill of Rights
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
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Usborne Astronomy and Space Sticker Book
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Usborne Illustrated Guide to Greek Myths and Legends
by Rodney Matthews
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
War Boy
by Michael Foreman
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in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$12.74
War in Iraq
from Franklin Watts
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What Was the Holocaust?
What Was?
by Gail Herman
1st edition from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-7th grade
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$2.80 (2 in stock)
What Was the Plague?
by Roberta Edwards
from Penguin Workshop
for 3rd-6th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
When Washington Crossed the Delaware
by Lynne Cheney
from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for Preschool-3rd grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
12