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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Adventures of Robin Hood
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Roger Green, illustrated by Walter Crane
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade
$20.00
American Revolution
Revolution!
by R. G. Grant
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
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Ancient Greeks
by Sophie Descamps-Lequime & Denise Vernerey
from Millbrook Press
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Ancient Romans
People of the Ancient World
by Allison Lassieur
from Franklin Watts
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Assyrians
by Elaine Landau
from Millbrook Press
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Athenians In the Classical Period
Life Long Ago
by Leonard Weisgard (pictures and text)
from Coward McCann
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$48.00 (1 in stock)
Bad News for Outlaws
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.99
Battle of Valcour Bay
Triangle Histories: The Revolutionary War
by Scott Ingram
from Blackbirch Press
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
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
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Beorn the Proud
by Madeleine Polland, Illustrated by William Stobbs
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
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Betsy Ross
Leaders of the American Revolution
by Vicki Cox
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Black Courage
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from Macrae-Smith Company
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Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$24.99
Bonnie Prince Charlie
by G. A. Henty
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$20.00
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Great Journeys
by Milton Meltzer
from Benchmark Books
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
By Pike and Dyke
by G. A. Henty
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Castles
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Christmas on the Prairie
by Joan. Anderson
from Clarion Books
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus and His Legacy
Opposing Viewpoints Series
by Mary Ellen Jones, Editor
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$5.60 (1 in stock)
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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Clara Barton: Civil War Nurse
Historical American Biographies
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Closer Look at Vikings
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Colonial People: The Silversmith
by Wil Mara
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Colonial Places
by Sarah Howarth
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Columbus
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Confederate Girl: The Diary of Carrie Berry, 1864
by Carrie Berry; edited by Christy Steele and Anne Todd
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Constitution
American Symbols and their Meanings
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Coronado and His Captains
by Camilla Campbell, illustrated by Harve Stein
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by Donald Russell, illustrated by Max Ranft
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Creating the Constitution: 1787
Drama of American History
by Christopher Collier & James Lincoln Collier
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Cultural History of Women in America: Finding an Identity
A Cultural History of Women in America: Volume 1
by Alex Woolf
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Women's History for 3rd-8th grade
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Once Upon America
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Dear Levi
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Destined for Space (Smithsonian)
by Don Nardo
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Discoverer: The Story of a Satellite
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Early American Industrial Revolution
Let Freedom Ring
by Katie Bagley
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Earthquake!
by Kate Wilson
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Egyptian Pyramid
Inside Story
by Jacqueline Morley, Mark Bergin, John James
from Peter Bedrick Books
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
from Children's Press
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Explorers of the Arctic and Antarctic
by Edward F. Dolan
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Fall of Constantinople
by Ruth Tenzer Feldman
from Twenty-first Century Books
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Fast Forward Egyptian Mummies
by Henrietta McCall, illustrated by Dave Antram
from Franklin Watts
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ferdinand Magellan
by Milton Meltzer
from Benchmark Books
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Ferdinand Magellan and the First Voyage Around the World
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
First Book of Ancient Rome
by Charles Alexander Robinson, Jr., Revised by Lorna Greenberg
Revised Edition from Franklin Watts
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Jacksons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Lincolns
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
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First Families: The Madisons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
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First Families: The Washingtons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
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First Olympic Games
from Silver Burdett Press
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
For the Temple
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Francisco Pizarro
Discover the Life of an Explorer
by Trish Kline
from Rourke Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Latinos in American History
by Jim Whiting
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Future in Space
Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Geronimo: Apache Freedom Fighter
Native American Biographies
by Spring Hermann
from Enslow
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Glorious Days, Dreadful Days
Stories of America
by Philippa Kirby
from Steck-Vaughn Company
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in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Going to School During the Civil War: The Confederacy
by Kerry A. Graves, consultant Melodie Andrews
from Blue Earth Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Everyday Life in History (Location: HISV-EVERY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Going to School During the Civil War: The Union
by Kerry A. Graves, consultant Melodie Andrews
from Blue Earth Books
for 2nd-5th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Going to School in Colonial America
by Shelley Swanson Sateren, consultant Melodie Andrews
from Blue Earth Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Everyday Life in History (Location: HISV-EVERY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Good Women of a Well-Blessed Land
by Brandon Marie Miller
from Lerner Publishing Group
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in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-7th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Guise of Every Graceless Heart
by Terrill Irwin Elniff
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$5.00
Harriet Tubman
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by Lisa Halvorsen
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Henry Hudson
Library of Explorers and Exploration
by Josepha Sherman
from Rosen Central
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Her Story, Her Words
by Frances E. Ruffin
from Rosen Central
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
History Beneath Your Feet: Ancient Rome
by Sean Sheehan
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
History of the World: Early Middle Ages
from Heinemann Educational Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
History of the World: Late Middle Ages
by Monica Dombrosio, Roberto Barbieri
from Steck-Vaughn Company
for 7th-9th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
How and Why Wonder Book of the Polar Regions
by Irving Robbin, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in How and Why Wonder Books (Location: VIN-H&W)
$3.00 (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
for 3rd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
How People Lived in Ancient Egypt
How People Lived
by Jane Bingham
from PowerKids Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$10.00 (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
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hunters Blaze the Trails
by Edith S. McCall
New 1980 Edition from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Iliad
Everyman's Library
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$23.00
In the Reign of Terror
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
In Their Own Words: World War I
by Nicholas Saunders
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Incas
by Rosemary Rees
from Heinemann Educational Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Invaders
by Martin Windrow
from ARCO
for 3rd-8th grade
in Military & Weapon History (Location: HISV-MILIT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Isaac Newton and Gravity
by Steve Parker
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Island Far From Home
by John Donahue
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Jacobite Exile
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$20.00
James Longstreet
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by Melanie LeTourneau
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Jefferson Davis
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by W. Scott Ingram
from Blackbirch Press
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
John and Sebastian Cabot
by Henry Ira Kurtz
from Franklin Watts
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in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.00 (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
from Franklin Watts
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Journal of One Davey Wyatt
by Donald Honig, illustrated by Sam Fink
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Journey to the Past: Ancient Egypt
by Romano Solbiati
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Juan Ponce de Leon and the Search for the Fountain of Youth
by Daniel E. Harmon
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$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)
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Roger Green
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-10th grade
$22.00
Learn About Pyramids
by Peter Mellett
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Leif Eriksson
by Cynthia Fitterer Klingel, Robert B. Noyed
from Child's World
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (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 Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Life During the Great Civilizations: The Inca
by Charles & Linda George
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life During the Russian Revolution
by Victoria Sherrow
from Lucent Press
for 6th-12th grade
in Communism & The Cold War (Location: HISA-20CW)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
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