Modern History

There isn't more history in the last five centuries than all the previous millennia, we just have more plentiful records of it. In all honesty, sometimes the plethora of detail isn't only overwhelming, it obscures the whole point of the story. As humans, we're all too susceptible to the lure of obscurity, to the desire for darkness where there ought to be light.

In many ways, this is the chief characteristic of modern history. Mankind seems to have accepted Enlightenment ideals en masse, and the result is the non-stop acquisition of knowledge, as though information could shut us off from the eye of a just and jealous God. Evolutionary theory, psychology, existentialism and postmodernism, public education, Communism—all these ideas are intended to put man at a further remove from God.

During the Renaissance, thinkers and artists decided that if man was going to make himself great, he'd have to replicate the glory of the Classical Era, with its enduring artifacts and intellectual produce. Enlightenment thinkers took this one step further, insisting that man could only know what he could deduce using reason alone, and consequently amassing knowledge in order to have a more thorough basis for such reasonable inquiry.

Since then, philosophers and scientists have devoted themselves to interpreting the facts from a purely human perspective, creating a picture of the universe that is mechanistic and godless. Meaning is dead, God is dead, and hope is dead, but the Enlightenment ideal of human progress (repackaged as Darwinian naturalism) is alive and well, the phantom idol of countless millions.

Even a brief survey of the last century would seem to demolish the possibility of any such idea, but it continues to inform nearly every element of our culture, from pop music to public policy debates. Atrocities like the Holocaust, racism in America, abortion, and totalitarian rule in Asian countries are reinterpreted or explained away to fit the overarching rubrik of sustained forward progress.

Christians understand things a bit differently. We aren't pessimists by any means, but we aren't blind optimists, either. God's plan entails one thing: His ultimate glory, and for those who believe His promises and trust Him for salvation, that's the most hopeful doctrine conceivable. At the same time, we also understand that man's efforts cannot be responsible for whatever good befalls us, that "progress" is only a gift of the Most High, and that only through the Holy Spirit is evil overcome by good.

The modern world is increasingly secular. Even in the Church, men and women stray from biblical truth in favor of appealing arguments on behalf of man, substituting a Christ-centered Gospel with one that is primarily focused on mankind and our individual salvation. We must counter these attitudes with God's truth, but we can only do so with an understanding of where those ideas come from and why they've taken root. A thorough study of modern history can and will provide those answers, and teach us how to stand firm in the truth we hold dear.

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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123 Items found Print
Active Filters: Historical Fiction, 9th grade (Ages 14-15), New Books & Materials
Across Five Aprils
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1965 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Across Five Aprils
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1965 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
Hornblower Series #11
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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After the Dancing Days
by Margaret I. Rostkowski
from HarperTrophy
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Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon
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Balloon Boy of San Francisco
by Dorothy Kupcha Leland
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Battle of Seattle
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Beware, Princess Elizabeth
A Young Royals Book
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Bonnie Prince Charlie
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Book Thief
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from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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Borrowed House
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
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Boy in the Alamo
by Margaret Cousins
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Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
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from Penguin Putnam
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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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By England's Aid
by G. A. Henty
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By Far Euphrates
by Deborah Alcock
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By Right of Conquest - MP3 CD
by Jim Hodges
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By Sheer Pluck
by G. A. Henty
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Calico Captive
by Elizabeth George Speare
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Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Captain Blood
Penguin Classics
by Rafael Sabatini
from Penguin Classics
Historical Romance for 7th-Adult
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$16.00
Captain, My Captain
by Deborah Meroff
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
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Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
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Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
from Hyperion/Madison Press
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
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Czar, The
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
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Dark Year of Dundee
Reformation Trail Series #06
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
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$10.95
Day of Pleasure
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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$10.99
Defender of the Faith
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 2
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
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Doctor Adrian
Reformation Trail Series #13
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
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$15.95
Done and Dared in Old France
Huguenot Inheritance Series #7
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
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Doomed Queen Anne
A Young Royals Book
by Carolyn Meyer
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$11.99
Driven into Exile
Huguenot Inheritance Series #5
by Charlotte Maria Tucker
from Inheritance Publications
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$9.95
Duncan's War
Crown & Covenant Series #1
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
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Escape
Huguenot Inheritance Series #1
by A. Van der Jagt
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False Coin, True Coin
by Lois Hoadley Dick
from Bob Jones University Press
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Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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Fever 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson
from Simon and Schuster
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Fiddler's Gun
by A. S. Peterson
1st edition from Rabbit Room Press
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$16.99
For God and the King
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 3
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
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Gods and Generals
by Jeff Shaara
from Ballantine Books
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Gunner's Run
by Rick Barry
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Guns of Thunder
Faith and Freedom Trilogy #1
by Doug Bond
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Hero of Spionkop
The Louis Wessels Commando #2
by Lawrence Penning
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Hornblower and the Atropos
Hornblower Series #5
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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Hornblower and the Hotspur
Hornblower Series #3
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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Hornblower During the Crisis
Hornblower Series #4
by C. S. Forester
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How They Kept the Faith
Huguenot Inheritance Series #3
by Grace Raymond
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$19.90
I Will Maintain
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 1
by Marjorie Bowen
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In This Hour
by Rudolf Van Reest
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Jacobite Exile
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
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$20.00
Jar of Dreams
by Yoshiko Uchida
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$6.99
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
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$9.99
Journey Through the Night
by Anne De Vries
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 8th-10th grade
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Journeyman
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
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Killer Angels
by Michael Shaara
from Ballantine Books
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
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King's Arrow
Crown & Covenant Series #2
by Doug Bond & Matthew Bird
from P&R Publishing
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Les Miserables
Signet Classics
by Victor Hugo, translated by Lee Fahnestock & Norman MacAfee
from Signet Classics
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
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$11.99
Les Miserables
Modern Library
by Victor Hugo, translated by Julie Rose
from Modern Library
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
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$20.00
Les Miserables
by Victor Hugo, translated by Charles Wilbour
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
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$42.00
Lieutenant Hornblower
Hornblower Series #2
by C. S. Forester
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Lion of Modderspruit
The Louis Wessels Commando #1
by Lawrence Penning
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
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$10.95
Lion of the North
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
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Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Clarion Books
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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$7.99
Lysbeth
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
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Mary, Bloody Mary
A Young Royals Book
by Carolyn Meyer
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Moonshiner's Son
by Carolyn Reeder
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Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Hornblower Series #1
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$17.99
Night Divided
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
from Scholastic Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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No Promises in the Wind
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Not for Crown or Sceptre
Reformation Trail Series #15
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
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$25.95
Ocean-Born Mary
by Lois Lenski
1st Edition Thus from Purple House Press
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$17.99
Orange and Green
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$20.00
Prince and the Pauper
Signet Classics
by Mark Twain
from Signet Classics
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
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$5.95
Rebel's Keep
Crown & Covenant Series #3
by Doug Bond
from P&R Publishing
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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$14.99
Red Badge of Courage
by Stephen Crane
from Bantam Books
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$4.95
Red Badge of Courage
Puffin Classics
by Stephen Crane
from Puffin Books
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$7.99
Red Badge of Courage
by Stephen Crane & Ambrose Bierce
from SeaWolf Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$7.45
Redskin and Cowboy
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$20.00
Refugees
Huguenot Inheritance Series #6
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$15.96
Roger the Ranger
by Eliza F. Pollard
from Inheritance Publications
for 6th-9th grade
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$14.95
Scarlet Pimpernel
Puffin Classics
by Baroness Orczy
from Puffin Books
Action/Adventure for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.99
Scarlet Pimpernel
Signet Classics
by Baroness Orczy
from Signet Classics
Action/Adventure for 8th-Adult
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$5.95
Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Orczy
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Action/Adventure for 8th-Adult
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$5.95
Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Orczy
from SeaWolf Press
Action/Adventure for 6th-10th grade
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$9.95
Scout of Christiaan de Wet
The Louis Wessels Commando #3
by Lawrence Penning
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Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
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$11.95
Secret Mission
Huguenot Inheritance Series #2
by A. Van der Jagt
from Inheritance Publications
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Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
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$6.99
Slopes of War
by N. A. Perez
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Snow Goose
by Paul Gallico
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$19.95 $14.00 (2 in stock)
Soldier of Virginia
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 9th-12th grade
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$12.95
Spanish Brothers
Reformation Trail Series #10
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$14.95
Squalls Before War
by Ned Bustard
from Veritas Press
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$15.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Trapp Family Singers
by Maria Augusta Trapp
from HarperCollins
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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$16.99
Streams to the River, River to the Sea
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 7th-9th grade
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$7.99
Surfman's Daughter
by Rebecca Locklear
for 6th-12th grade
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$7.95
Tale of Two Cities (abridged)
Puffin Classics
by Charles Dickens
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 8th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Three Men Came to Heidelberg
by Thea Van Halsema
from IDEA Ministries
Biography for 7th-9th grade
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$7.95
To Be a Slave
by Julius Lester
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-10th grade
1969 Newbery Honor Book
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$4.99
To Herat and Cabul
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$20.00
Under Drake's Flag
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$20.00
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