History of Transportation

The history of the world is largely the history of movement. We speak of ancient cultures as though they were immobile, often forgetting that the greatest empires were often comprised primarily of displaced peoples. Genghis Khan uprooted entire populations and put them elsewhere in order to encourage homogeneity within his realm. How did he get them from place to place?

In the age of Learjets and bullet trains, the invention of the wheel seems distant and almost inconsequential. Riding horses is a little more immediate (oddly) because people still do that, but unless you're Amish or Mennonite Brethren living in the eastern United States, carts, wagons and buggies are mere images flickering against the faded screen of the past.

Still, the wheel is one of the building blocks of civilization. Things like wagons, trains, and cars would never have been developed without the wheel, and by extension we probably wouldn't have airplanes either. Boats and ships are a slightly different story, but the technology that allowed early civilizations to put to sea is as foundational as that used to make wheels.

Man has always been fascinated with movement of all kinds, not least the modes of conveyance used to get people and things around. It's important for Christians to remember that God's will is ultimately what allows advances in transportation technology, which (rather than ending the discussion) is the best reason to study it in the first place. To that end, we offer a variety of resources covering a variety of vehicles and inventions.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and 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 Munford: Munford Meets Robert Fulton
by Jamie Aramini
Fir from Geography Matters
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Aircraft - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
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Airplane
Inventions that Shaped the World
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from Franklin Watts
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in Things That Go (Location: SCI-TTGO)
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Airplanes of the Second World War - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Carlo Demand
from Dover Publications
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in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$5.99 $2.50 (1 in stock)
Airplanes of World War I - Coloring Book
by Carlo Demand
from Dover Publications
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All About Books #51
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Amelia Earhart: Young Aviator
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Beatrice Gormley
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
American Muscle Cars - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
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by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
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Antique Airplanes - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
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Antique Automobiles - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Clarence P. Hornung
from Dover Publications
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in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$4.99
Antique Locomotives - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Tre Tryckare Company
from Dover Publications
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in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$4.99
Automobiles - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
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Boy Who Sailed Around the World Alone
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Cornerstones of Freedom Second Series
by Clark J. Evans
from Children's Press
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Charles Lindbergh
A Discovery Book
by David R. Collins
from Garrard Publishing Company
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Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
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Classic Cars - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
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in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$9.95
Classic Cars of the Fifties - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
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in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$3.99
Classic Motorcars - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Tre Tryckare Company
from Dover Publications
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$4.99
Classic Racing Cars of the World - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Carlo Demand
from Dover Publications
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in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$4.99
Commodore Perry in Japan
by Robert Reynolds
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Design Line: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
by Chris Oxlade, Edited by Jenny Broom, Illustrated by Mike Lemanski
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Draw 50 Boats, Ships, Trucks, and Trains
by Lee Ames
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Early Automobiles
Golden Library of Knowledge
by Eugene Rachlis, illustrated by Jack Coggins
from Golden Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Early Cars
Junior Golden Guides
by James A. Hathaway
from Golden Press
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in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Famous Trains - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
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Famous Women Aviators - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by LaFontaine, Bruce
from Dover Publications
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Fighter Planes
by Mairi MacKinnon
from Usborne
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First Flight
DK Eyewitness Readers Level 4
by Caryn Jenner
from DK Children
in DK Readers (Location: EAR-DK)
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First Ships Around the World
from Lerner Publishing Group
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Flight: A Panorama of Aviation
by Melvin B. Zisfein; illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker
from Pantheon Books
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Gasoline Buggy of the Duryea Brothers
by Robert B. Jackson
from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
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Great Railroad Race
Dear America
by Kristiana Gregory
from Scholastic Inc.
Fictional historical journal for 3rd-6th grade
in Dear America Books (Location: SER-DEAR)
Great Trains of All Time
by Freeman Hubbard; illustrated by Herb Mott
from Grosset & Dunlap
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Henry Ford: Young Man with Ideas
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Hazel B. Aird
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Historic Sailing Ships - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Tre Tryckare Company
from Dover Publications
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History of Fire Engines - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
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in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
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History of Flight - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
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History of the American Automobile - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by A. G. Smith & Randy Mason
from Dover Publications
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History of Trucks - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
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Horses of the Old West - Coloring Book
by John Green
from Dover Publications
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in Horse Coloring Books (Location: COL-HOR)
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How People Learned to Fly
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Stage 2
by Fran Hodgkins, illustrated by True Kelley
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
How Things Work: Vehicles - Coloring Book
by Scott MacNeill
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$4.99
How We Travel
by James Franklin Chamberlain
from Macmillan
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ideas That Changed the World: Transportation
by Philip Wilkinson and Michael Pollard, Illustrated by Robert Ingpen
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Guide to Sailing Ships
by Christopher Chant
Library ed from Marshall Cavendish Education
for 4th-8th grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-SHIP)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Indestructible Commodore Matthew Perry
by Arthur Orrmont
from Julian Messner
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in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Ironclads of the Civil War
by Frank R. Donovan
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Jet Fighters - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by John, Batchelor
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$5.99
John Paul Jones
A Discovery Book
by Stewart Graff, illustrated by William Hutchinson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-5th grade
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Journey to Monticello
Adventures in Colonial America
by James E. Knight
from Troll Communications
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Leif the Lucky
by Erick Berry
from Garrard Publishing Company
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Lighthouses of America
by Mina Lewiton, Illustrated by Howard Simon
from E.M. Hale and Company
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in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
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Lindbergh
Classic Starts
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
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Lindbergh Alone
by Brendan Gill
from Harcourt, Brace & World
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Lost Star
by Patricia Lauber
from Scholastic Inc.
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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Luxury Cars - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
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Making It Go: The Life and Work of Robert Fulton
by Don Herweck
from Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
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$7.00
Modern Fighters to Color, Cut Out & Fly
by Nick Taylor
from Bellerophon Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
Motorcycles - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
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in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$4.99
Mutiny on the Bounty
by Patrick O'Brien
from Walker and Company
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in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Mysterious Journey
by Martha Wickham
from Soundprints
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Nelson and the Age of Fighting Sail
by Oliver Warner
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Old Ship Figureheads - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by John Batchelor
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of the World Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISW)
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On the Shores of the Great Sea
Story of the World Series #1
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
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On the Shores of the Great Sea
Story of the World Series #1
by M. B. Synge
from Living Book Press
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99
On the Wings of Heroes
by Richard Peck
from Puffin Books
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$7.99
Orville Wright
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Orville Wright - Audio Book
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
Pirates
by Nigel Cawthorne
from Chartwell Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pirates (Location: HISV-PIRATE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Railroad
Inventions That Shaped the World
by John Matthews
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-9th grade
in Transcontinental Railroad (Location: HISA-19TRR)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Railroad Engines from Around the World - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$5.99
Red Baron
by Richard A. Boning, illustrated by Harry Schaare
from Dexter & Westbrook
for 3rd-6th grade
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Sailors, Whalers, Fantastic Sea Voyages
by Valerie Petrillo
1st edition from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-SHIP)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude
by Louise Borden
1st edition from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-SHIP)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Sea Disasters
by Walter R. Brown & Norman D. Anderson
from Addison Wesley
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Ships - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$3.95
Ships and Boats
by Chris Oxlade
from Shooting Star Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-SHIP)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Ships at Work
by Mary Elting; illustrated by Manning De V. Lee
from Harvey House, Inc., Publishers
for 4th-6th grade
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Ships Visual Encyclopedia
by David Ross
from Amber Books
for 3rd-Adult
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-SHIP)
Ships, Sailors and the Sea
Usborne Beginner's Knowledge
by Caroline Young, J. Miles
from Usborne
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-SHIP)
Spanish Armada
by Jay Williams
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Spanish Armada
by C. Hodges
from Coward McCann
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Sports Cars - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$5.99
Steamboat South
by Madye Lee Chastain
from E.M. Hale and Company
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in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections: Man-of-War
by Stephen Biesty
from DK Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Amelia Earhart
Signature Books #33
by Adele de Leeuw, illustrated by Harry Beckhoff
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Flight
by Mary Lee Settle
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Story of Henry Ford & the Automobile
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Zachary Kent
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of Old Ironsides
by Norman Richards, illustrated by Tom Dunnington
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of Ships
by Frank O. Braynard, paintings by Fouille
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Stephen Decatur
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #29
by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Graham Kaye
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of the Clipper Ships
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Golden Spike
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Stein Conrad
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of The Lafayette Escadrille
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Spirit of St. Louis
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
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