My Account Wish List Shopping Cart Log In
Store Location

Cultural History

You'll often hear proponents of whole-book education methods talk about the benefit of learning history through literature. They aren't talking about the kind of history you might learn in a textbook—for them, knowing the dates of the Thirty Years' War or the name of the first prime minister of Australia isn't that important. The kind of history you'll learn in novels and diaries and essays is cultural history.

How people live, what they learn in school, the weapons they use, their religion, how they perceive their role in the world: these are all elements of culture that fiction and private documents reveal much better and more thoroughly than books simply detailing facts. Source documents are the product as much of the culture in which they're written, after all, as they are the result of the authors' own invention.

Books simply about the customs and daily life of a people group do have their place, too. You might not have as intimate a portrait of Victorian England after reading What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew as you would after reading Great Expectations, but you'll learn plenty. Sometimes you just need the straightforward facts, and at times like those novels are not your friends.

The real question for many, however, isn't how do I learn about different cultures?, but WHY should I learn about different cultures? Well, there's no law saying you have to, but aside from the fun you can have doing so, learning about foreign or lost cultures is one way to better understand your own place in the grand scheme of things.

It's not that the Chinese New Year festival will shed any great light on your own situation, but the deeper you study the cultural contexts around the globe, the more you realize how similar people really are. Understanding connections is one of the great advantages of a well-rounded education; the connections between people a solid grounding in cultural history can offer are especially poignant.

Of course, reading about the origins of your own culture will help you understand why you do things the way you do, why you think the way you do, why the people around you are the way they are. As Christians, this knowledge can help us share the Gospel easier than if we knew nothing of the background of the people we try to reach, and that is the one reason for studying cultural history that trumps all the others.

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.
Did you find this review helpful?
Parent Categories
Cultural History
Cultural History
Subcategories
60 Items found Print
Filter
Active Filters: Adult, New Books & Materials
101 More Hymn Stories
by Kenneth Osbeck
from Kregel Publications
for 6th-12th grade
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
$19.99
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Dover Thrift Editions
by Benjamin Franklin
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Band of Brothers
by Stephen Ambrose, Foreword by Tom Hanks
25th anniversary from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$19.99
Book of Marvels: Marvels of the Occident
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-Adult
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$27.99
Book of Marvels: Marvels of the Occident
by Richard Halliburton
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-Adult
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$17.99
Book of Marvels: Marvels of the Orient
by Richard Halliburton
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-Adult
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$17.99
Book on the Bookshelf
by Henry Petroski
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in History of Books & Language (Location: HISV-BOOK)
$16.95
Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
by Bryan Mealer, William Kamkwamba
from Harper Perennial
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
Brendan Voyage
Modern Library Exploration
by Tim Severin
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.00
Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan
by William Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Drama for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$29.95
Composers Activity-Pak
by Amy Pak
from Home School in the Woods
for 3rd-8th grade
in Hands-On History Activity-Paks (Location: HISRF-HOH)
$12.00
Creative Haven Fabulous Fashions of the 1950's
Creative Haven
by Ming-Ju Sun
from Dover Publications
for 5th-Adult
in Adult Coloring Books (Location: COL-ADULT)
$7.99
Discoverers
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$26.00
Discovery of Guiana
by Walter Raleigh
from Living Book Press
for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$6.99
Dore's Illustrations for "Paradise Lost"
by Gustave Dore
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$17.99
Endurance
by Alfred Lansing
from Tyndale House
for 9th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$16.99
Evolution of Useful Things
by Henry Petroski
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Everyday Life in History (Location: HISV-EVERY)
$17.00
First Voyage to America
by Christopher Columbus
from Dover Publications
Historical Primary Sources for 10th-Adult
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$9.95
Four Voyages
by Christopher Columbus
from Penguin Classics
Historical Primary Sources for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$17.00
Gift of Music
by Jane Stuart Smith & Betty Carlson
3rd edition from Crossway Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$23.99 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Gifted Hands
by M.D. Ben Carson
Reprinted from Zondervan
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99
Great Adventurers of the Twentieth Century
by Ron Tagliapietra
from Bob Jones University Press
Biography Anthologies for 8th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$12.95
Great Physicists from Galileo to Einstein
by George Gamow
from Dover Publications
Biography for 9th-Adult
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$16.95
Home: A Short History of an Idea
by Witold Rybczynski
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in Houses & Homes (Location: HISMC-HH)
$16.00
Illustrated Wreck of the Whaleship Essex
by Owen Chase
200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$8.45
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
from Broadway Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Isaac Newton
by Mitch Stokes
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Christian Encounters (Location: BIO-CE)
$12.00
Jane Austen - Paper Dolls
by Eileen Rudisill Miller
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-Adult
in Dover Paper Dolls (Location: COL-DOLL)
$12.99
Journals of Lewis & Clark
Signet Classics
by John Bakeless, editor
from Signet Classics
Primary Source Documents for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.95
Journey and Ordeal of Cabeza de Vaca
Dover editions
by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
from Dover Publications
for 5th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$10.95
Kon-Tiki
by Thor Heyerdahl
from Pocket Books
Non-fiction/Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Land of Hope
by Wilfred M. McClay
from Encounter Books
for 10th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$49.99 $25.00 (1 in stock)
Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun
by J.R.R Tolkien, Edited by Christopher Tolkien
Reprint from Mariner Books
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Material World
by Peter Menzel
from Sierra Club Books
for 7th-Adult
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$32.00
Microbe Hunters
by Paul De Kruif
from Purple House Press
for 10th-Adult
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$14.99
Miracle in the Hills
by Mary T. Martin Sloop with Legette Blythe
from McGraw-Hill
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.50
Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West
by LeRoy R. Hafen & Harvey L. Carter
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$21.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Music of the Great Composers
by Patrick Kavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 9th-Adult
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$21.99
My Favorite Songs
by Maria Trapp
from Veritas Press
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.00
My First Summer in the Sierra
by John Muir
from Gibbs M. Smith
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.95
My First Summer in the Sierra
by John Muir
from Living Book Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.99
Napoleon's Buttons
by Penny Le Couteur, Jay Burreson
from Jeremy P. Tarcher
for Adult
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$21.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien
by Christopher Tolkien (editor and text), illustrations by J.R.R. Tolkien
2021 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Lord of the Rings (Location: LIR-LOTR)
$35.00
Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien
by Christopher Tolkien (editor and text), illustrations by J.R.R. Tolkien
2021 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Lord of the Rings (Location: LIR-LOTR)
$35.00
Professor and the Madman
by Simon Winchester
from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Saga of Eric Brighteyes
by H. Rider Haggard
1st edition from Leaves of Gold Press
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.95
Saga of the Volsungs
by Anonymous, Jesse L. Byock
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Soul of Science
Turning Point Christian Worldview
by Nancy Pearcey & Charles Thaxton
from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Faith & Science (Location: XAP-SCI)
$24.99 $12.50 (2 in stock)
South
by Ernest Shackleton
from Living Book Press
Expedition Memoir for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Story of Euclid
by W.B. Frankland
from Living Book Press
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Story of Liberty
by Charles Coffin
from Maranatha Publications
Historical Reference for 10th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$14.95 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Story of Painting
by Sister Wendy Beckett
from DK Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$48.00
Story of Western Science
by Susan Wise Bauer
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 11th-Adult
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$26.95
The Martian
by Andy Weir
Reprint from Broadway Books
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.00
Travels of Marco Polo
by Marco Polo
from Penguin Classics
Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
Two Years Before the Mast
Signet Classics
by Richard Henry Dana Jr.
from Signet Classics
Autobiographical Narrative for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.95
Uncovering the Logic of English
by Denise Eide
2nd Edition from Logic of English, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Logic of English (Location: PHO-LOE)
$14.99
Undaunted Courage
by Stephen Ambrose
from Simon and Schuster
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$20.00 $11.00 (3 in stock)
Wright Brothers
by David McCullough
Reprint from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$19.99
You Don't Cry Out Loud
by Lily Isaacs
from New Leaf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$10.47
Sign Up!

Shop

Support

Hours & Directions

Learn more about our store location and hours

Connect

503.655.1951

hello@exodusbooks.com

19146 Molalla Ave,
Oregon City, OR 97045