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.
Did you find this review helpful?
20 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Hardcover, In-Stock Books & Materials
All About Sailing the Seven Seas
All About Books #40
by Ruth Brindze
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Captain Edward L. Beach: Around the World Under Water
by Beril Becker
from Kingston House
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (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 (1 in stock)
First to Fly
by David Craig & Peter Busby
from Crown and Covenant
for 4th-6th grade
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Getting There
by Suzanne Hilton
from Westminster Press
for 5th-Adult
in Things That Go (Location: SCI-TTGO)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Lindbergh
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd
Landmark #122
by A.B.C. Whipple
from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Pirates (Location: HISV-PIRATE)
$14.99
Pirates
by Nigel Cawthorne
from Chartwell Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pirates (Location: HISV-PIRATE)
$8.00 (1 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)
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)
Sky Pioneers
by Jeanne LeMonnier Gardner, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Flight
by Mary Lee Settle
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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 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)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
The Story of the Erie Canal
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
To Fly
by Wendie C. Old, illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker
from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th grade
2003 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$17.99