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, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Sterling Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
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Adventures of Perrine
Windermere Readers #10
by Hector Malot, translated by Gil Meynier, adapted by Edith Heal
1954 edition from Rand McNally
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Alamo All Stars
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #6
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
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Album of the Civil War
by William Loren Katz
from Franklin Watts
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All Aboard for Freedom
by Marie McSwigan, illustrated by E. Harper Johnson, with an introduction by Jan Papanek
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
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$30.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1900s and 1910s
Decades of American History
by Jim Callan
from Facts On File
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$25.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1930s
Decades of American History
by Jim Callan
from Facts On File
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America in the 1970s
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America in the 1990s
by George Ochoa
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America's Heroes
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American Heritage History of the Indian Wars
by Robert M. Utley, Wilcomb E. Washburn
Revised from American Heritage Publishing Co.
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in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
American Heroes of the 20th Century
Landmark Giant #14
by Harold & Doris Faber
from Random House
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in Landmark Giants (Location: VIN-LAN)
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American Plague
by Jim Murphy
from Clarion Books
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2004 Newbery Honor Book, 2004 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner, NCTE Orbi Pictus Award
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$21.99
Americans Before Columbus
by Elizabeth Baity, illustrated by C.B. Falls
from Viking Press
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1952 Newbery Honor Book
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$14.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egypt
by Karen Sullivan
First Edition from Brockhampton Press
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in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egypt: Life, Myth, and Art
by JoAnne Fletcher
First Edition from Duncan Baird
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$8.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Rome
Discoveries Series
by Dr. Paul C. Roberts
from Barnes & Noble
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Ancient World: The Chinese
The Ancient World
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Anna of Byzantium
by Tracy Barrett
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Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank, translated by B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt
Book Club Edition from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
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Annotated Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, edited by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina
Annotated from W. W. Norton and Co.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade
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$35.00
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by Henry S. F. Cooper, Jr.
from Dial Press
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Archaeology Book
by David Down
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$15.19
Ark, The
by Margot Benary-Isbert
2021 Revision from Purple House Press
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$23.00
Authoress of the Odyssey
by Samuel Butler, introduction by David Grene
from University of Chicago
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B. Franklin, Printer
by David A. Adler
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Battles of the Ancient World: 1285 BC ~ AD 451
by Kelly Devries, et. al
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Bayeux Tapestry
by Norman Denny & Josephine Filmer-Sankey
First Edition from Atheneum
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Before Columbus
by Charles C. Mann
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Before Columbus
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Beggar's King
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Berliners
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from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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Betsy and Joe
by Maud Hart Lovelace, illustrated by Vera Neville
15th Printing from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
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Black Falcon
by Armstrong Sperry
from John C. Winston
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Black Man in America
from Franklin Watts
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Black Rose
by Thomas B. Costain
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Blades of Freedom
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #10
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Bomb
by Steve Sheinkin
First Edition from Flash Point
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2013 Newbery Honor Book, 2013 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
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Book of Marvels: Marvels of the Orient
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Book of the Ancient World
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Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
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$17.99
Bret Harte: Stories of the Early West
by Bret Harte
from Platt and Munk Publishers
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By England's Aid
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Byzantine Empire
by James A Corrick
annotated edition from Lucent Press
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Captain Edward L. Beach: Around the World Under Water
by Beril Becker
from Kingston House
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Captive
by Scott O'Dell
from HMH Books for Young Readers
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Hans Christian Anderson Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Carver: A Life in Poems
by Marilyn Nelson
from Boyds Mill Press
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2002 Newbery Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.95
Castle
by David Macaulay
First Edition from Houghton Mifflin
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$9.50 (2 in stock)
Castles and Fortresses
by Robin S. Oggins
from MetroBooks
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Celts: Life, Myth, and Art
by Juliette Wood
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Chariot in the Sky
Land of the Free Series
by Arna Bontemps, illustrated by Cyrus Le Roy Baldridge
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Charles A. Lindbergh
by James Cross Giblin
from Clarion Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1998 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London
by Andrea Warren
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany
from Macmillan
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
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in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
by Samuel Eliot Morison
from Dorset Press
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Cities Then and Now
by Jim Antoniou
from Macmillan
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Civil War Battles
by Curt Johnson
1st edition from Crescent Books
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Classic Adventures
by Sir H. Rider Haggard
from New Orchard Editions
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Classical Rome
by John D. Clare, ed.
from Harcourt Children's Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Codfish Musket
by Agnes Hewes, illustrated by Armstrong Sperry
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 8th-12th grade
1937 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial American Home Life
by John F. Warner
from Franklin Watts
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in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Colonial Governor
by J.G.E. Hopkins, illustrated by William Wilson
from P.J. Kenedy & Sons
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in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Colonization of the Moon
by D. S. Halacy, Jr.
from Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.
for 6th-10th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Colosseum
by Peter Quennell
from Newsweek Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun
by Rhoda Blumberg
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Japan (Location: HISMC-JAP)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Constantine the Great
by Michael Grant
from History Book Club
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Countdown
by Deborah Wiles
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Crusades: Iron Men & Saints
by Harold Lamb
from International Collectors Library
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Africa
by Jocelyn Murray
3rd edition from Facts On File
African History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$35.00
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient America
by Marion Wood
1st edition from Facts On File
Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Egypt
by Geraldine Harris
3rd edition from Facts On File
Ancient History for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$35.00 $24.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Greece
by Anton Powell
3rd edition from Facts On File
Atlas/Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$35.00
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Maya & Aztec Civilizations
by Marion Wood
3rd edition from Facts On File
Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$35.00 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Mesopotamia
by Erica C. D. Hunter
3rd edition from Facts On File
World History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Rome
by Mike Corbishley
3rd edition from Facts On File
Atlas/Roman History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$35.00
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Middle Ages
by Mike Corbishley
3rd edition from Chelsea House Publishing
Atlas/History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$35.00
Cultural Atlas for Young People: The Bible
by John Rogerson
from Facts On File
for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt
by Geraldine Harris
Revised Edition from Facts On File
Ancient History for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas of Ancient Greece
by Anton Powell
Revised Edition from Facts On File
Atlas/Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$29.95
Dark Frigate
by Charles Boardman Hawes, illustrated by Warrenn Chappell
from Little, Brown & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Darkness and the Dawn
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Dateline: Troy
by Paul Fleischman
from Candlewick Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Ancient China
DK Eyewitness Series
by Arthur Cotterell
from DK Publishing
Chinese History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$16.99
DK Eyewitness: Ancient Egypt
DK Eyewitness Series
by George Hart
from DK Publishing
Egyptian History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Ancient Rome
DK Eyewitness Series
by Simon James
from DK Publishing
Roman History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$9.99
DK Eyewitness: Castle
DK Eyewitness Series
by Christopher Gravett
from DK Publishing
Middle Ages History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$16.99
DK Eyewitness: Explorer
by Rupert Matthews
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Explorer
DK Eyewitness Series
by Rupert Matthews
1st edition from DK Publishing
HIstory Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Knight
DK Eyewitness Series
by Christopher Gravett
from DK Publishing
Middle Ages HIstory Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Medieval Life
DK Eyewitness Series
by Andrew Langley
from DK Publishing
Midieval Ages History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$16.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Viking
DK Eyewitness Series
by Susan M. Margeson
from DK Publishing
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Do's and Don'ts of Yesteryear
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$12.95
Don't Know Much About Mummies
by Kenneth C. Davis, illustrated by S. D. Schindler
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Dragonfly Eyes
by Cao Wenxuan, translated from the Chinese by Helen Wang
from Candlewick Press
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.99
Eagle of the Ninth
by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
$20.00
Early American Literature
from Perfection Learning
for 8th-12th grade
in American Literature Curriculum (Location: LITCUR-AM)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Early Days of a Cowboy on the Pecos
by James F. Hinkle
from Unknown Publisher
for 7th-12th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
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