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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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg
from Graphia
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith
by G. Frederick Owen
from Tyndale House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
from Penguin Random House
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Alexander the Great
by Robert Green
from Grolier Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (3 in stock)
Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
by Gordon S. Wood
from Penguin Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
And the Word Came With Power
by Joanne Shetler, Patricia Purvis
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
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$8.50 (2 in stock)
Anne Bradstreet
by Heidi L. Nichols
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 10th-Adult
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Anne Frank's Story
by Carol Ann Lee
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
by Ruud van der Rol & Rian Verhoeven
from Puffin Books
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
by Ruud van der Rol & Rian Verhoeven
from Scholastic Inc.
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Around the World in a Hundred Years
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
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$6.00 (2 in stock)
Benazir Bhutto
by Englar, Mary
1st edition from Compass Point Books
for 4th-6th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
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
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
for 5th-8th grade
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Book About Christopher Columbus
by Ruth Belov Gross, Illustrated by Syd Hoff
from Scholastic Inc.
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Born to Run
by Christopher McDougall
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Boy's War
by David Michell
1st edition from OMF
for 5th-8th grade
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Bridge to the Sun
by Gwen Terasaki
from Rock Creek Books
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Bruchko
by Bruce Olson
Updated from Charisma House
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Bruchko and the Motilone Miracle
by Bruce Olson
from Charisma House
Biography for 10th-Adult
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Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
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Buffalo Bill
by Helen Cody Wetmore
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 6th-9th grade
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Buffalo Bill and the Wild West
by Henry Blackman Sell and Victor Weybright
Reprint from International Cody Family Assoc.
for Adult
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
Christianity and the Constitution
by John Eidsmoe
from Baker Academics
for Adult
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$25.00 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
Sowers Series
by Bennie Rhodes
from Mott Media
for 4th-6th grade
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$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Churchill: Walking with Destiny
by Andrew Roberts
from Penguin Books
for Adult
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Cleopatra
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
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D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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$25.00 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd Grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Davy Crockett
by David Crockett
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Davy Crockett, Young Pioneer
by Laurence Santrey
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Diary of a Napoleanic Foot Soldier
by Jakob Walter
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Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
from Anchor Books
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Did It Take Creativity to Find Relativity, Albert Einstein?
by Gilda Berger, Melvin & Gilda Berger, Melvin Berger
from Scholastic Inc.
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Douglas Macarthur: American Hero
Book Report Biographies
by Barbara Silberdick Feinberg
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Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Scholastic Inc.
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Endurance
by Alfred Lansing
from Tyndale House
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Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky
by Barbara Schiller
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$4.50 (3 in stock)
Explorers News
The History News
by Michael Johnstone
from Candlewick Press
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Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Dreher
from Tor Classic
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Sansevere-Dreher, Illustrated by Ed Renfro
from Starscape
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Franklin
by David R. Logsdon
4th edition
for 9th-Adult
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Father to Nobody's Children
by David E. Fessenden
from CLC Publications
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FDR
by Jean Edward Smith
from Random House
for Adult
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
by T.J. Stiles
from Vintage Books
for Adult
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Florence Nightingale
Sowers Series
by David Collins
from Mott Media
Biography for 5th-7th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
For God and Country
by John Riddle
from Barbour Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Francis Scott Key
Sowers Series
by David Collins
from Mott Media
for 5th-7th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
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Galileo for Kids
by Richard Panchyk
from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
$18.95 $12.00 (2 in stock)
George MacDonald
by Michael R Phillips
from Bethany House
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington
Sterling Point Books
by Sterling North
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$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 (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Glimpses of Truth
Book of Books #1
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Going Solo
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Governor of England
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 9th-12th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
$17.95 $10.00 (3 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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$2.50 (3 in stock)
Harriet Tubman
by Frances T. Humphreville
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-7th grade
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Heart Strangely Warmed
by Louise A. Vernon
from Herald Press
for 4th-8th grade
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Heavenly Man
by Brother Yun, Paul Hattaway
from Monarch Books
for 10th-Adult
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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)
Henry Ford
by Dina El Nabli
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
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$2.50 (1 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
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
I Dared to Call Him Father
by Bilquis Sheikh & Richard H. Schneider
25th Anniversary from Chosen Books
Biography for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Ice Bound
by Jerri Nielsen, Mary Anne Vollers
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Idelette
by Edna Gerstner
from Soli Deo Gloria
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King
by Ellen Levine
Updated from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$2.50 (1 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)
In Their Own Words: Christopher Columbus
by Peter & Connie Roop
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (2 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)
Invention of Nature
by Andrea Wulf
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion
by Andrea Gianopoulos
1st edition from Capstone Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
J. Pierpont Morgan
by Michael Burgan
1st edition from Compass Point Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Jarhead
by Anthony Swofford
from Scribner
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Jason Lee
Sowers Series
by Charles Ludwig
from Mott Media
Biography for 7th-9th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Jeanne Guyon
by Jeanne Guyon
1st Ed. from Whitaker House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Jed Smith
by Frank Latham
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.50 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Jesse Jackson
by Pat McKissack
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Joan of Arc
DK Biographies
by Kathleen Kudlinski
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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 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)
Juan Ponce de Leon
by Louise Chipley Slavicek
1st edition from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Juliette Low, Girl Scout Founder
by Helen Boyd Higgins
from Patria Press, Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Junior Officer's Reading Club
by Patrick Hennessey
from Riverhead Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln
An All Aboard Reading Reader Level 4
by Jean Fritz
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-3rd grade
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Katherine Parr
by Brandon G. Withrow
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99 $6.50 (2 in stock)
Kid's Guide to African American History
by Nancy I. Sanders
from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
L. Frank Baum: Creator of Oz
by Katharine M. Rogers
from Da Capo Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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