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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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290
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-9th grade
Hans Christian Andersen Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Addy Learns a Lesson
by Connie Porter
from American Girl
for 4th-6th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
Hornblower Series #11
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$11.20 (1 in stock)
Alamo All Stars
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #6
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59 $8.95 (1 in stock)
Amelia & Eleanor Go For a Ride
by Pam Munoz Ryan & Brian Selznick (Illustrator)
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.29
Aquila's Drinking Gourd
by Pamela Dell
from Tradition Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Archie's War
by Marcia Williams
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
At the Seven Stars
by John & Patricia Beatty, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Macmillan
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
At the Sign of the Golden Compass
by Eric P. Kelly, illustrated by Raymond Lufkin
from Macmillan
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Battle for Quebec
North Star Books #38
by F. Van Wyck Mason, illustrated by Victor Mays
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Bay of the North
by Ronald Syme
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Beckoning Hills
Land of the Free Series
by Joseph H. Gage, illustrated by Floyd Torbert
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 1st-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Betsy and the Emperor
by Staton Rabin
1st edition from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Black Falcon
by Armstrong Sperry
from John C. Winston
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Blades of Freedom
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #10
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.59
Blowing-Wand
Land of the Free Series
by Elsie Reif Ziegler, illustrated by Jacob Landau
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bonnie Dundee
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Boy Sailor with John Paul Jones
by H. C. Thomas
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 5th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.84
Brady
by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Coward McCann
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
By England's Aid
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
By the Shores of Silver Lake (Pictorial Cover)
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Calico Captive
by Elizabeth Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Captain of the Minute Men
Boys of Liberty Library
by Harrie Irving Hancock
from David McKay Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Captive
by Scott O'Dell
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
Hans Christian Anderson Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Caravan to Oregon
by Herbert E. Arntson
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave II
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (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)
Child Star
by Lydia Weaver
from Viking Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Climb a Lofty Ladder
by Marion & Walter Havighurst, illustrated by Jill Elgin
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Colonel Thorndyke's Secret
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Come on Seabiscuit
by Ralph Moody
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Condemned as a Nihilist
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Conquista!
by Clyde Robert Bulla, Michael Syson
1st edition from Thomas Crowell
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Cornstalks and Cannonballs
by Barbara Mitchell
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Countdown
by Deborah Wiles
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Atheneum
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Cromwell's Head
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Dan Morgan, Rifleman
by Ernest E. Tucker
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Garden City Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Dark Frigate
by Charles Boardman Hawes, illustrated by Warrenn Chappell
from Little, Brown & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Dark Moment
by Ann Bridge
Book Club Edition from Macmillan
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Daughter of the Seine
by Jeanette Eaton
from Harper & Brothers
for 9th-Adult
1930 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Davy Crockett
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Constance Rourke, illustrated by Walter Seaton
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-7th grade
1935 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Deep Treasure
by Charles Blackford, illustrated by Alexander Key
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Desert Harvest
Land of the Free Series
by Vanya Oakes, illustrated by Isami Kashiwagi
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Doctor Dogbody's Leg
by James Norman Hall, illustrated by Warren Chappell
from Little, Brown & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Door to the North
Land of the Free Series
by Elizabeth Coatsworth, illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Dorothy's Double
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$19.51
Down Ryton Water
by E. R. Gaggin
from George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd.
for 4th-6th grade
1942 Newbery Honor
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
$16.99
Drums
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by James Boyd
1st edition from Atheneum
for 5th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
ECL: Treasure Island
Educator Classic Library #1
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Don Irwin
Complete and Unabridged Edition from Classic Press
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
Elin's Amerika
by Marguerite de Angeli
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Enemy at the Gate
by Rita Ritchie
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Facing Death
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Faery Lands of the South Seas
by James Norman Hall and Charles Bernard Nordhoff, illustrated by George A. Picken
from Harper & Brothers
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder, illustrated by Helen Sewell
from Harper & Brothers
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Farmer Boy (Pictorial Cover)
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Fear in the Forest
by Cateau de Leeuw
from T. Nelson & Sons
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Fifer of San Jacinto
by Lee McGiffin, illustrated by Frank Nicholas
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
First Four Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.14
First Four Years (Pictorial Cover)
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Flaming Arrows
by William O. Steele, Illustrated by Paul Galdone
1st edition from Harcourt
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
For Name and Fame
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Fortunate Grandchild
by Miss Read
1st US Edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Four Feathers
by A. E. W. Mason
from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Fourth Gift
by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino
from Doubleday & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Gathering of Days
by Joan Blos
from Atheneum
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1980 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
George Alfred Henty
by George Manville Fenn
from Salem Ridge Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Giant
by Judith McQuoid
from Little Island Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.29
Going West
by Jean Van Leeuwen, illustrated by Thomas Allen
from Dial Books for Young Readers
Historical fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Good Shepherd
by C.S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Grandfather's Dance
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Ground Zero
by Alan Gratz
from Scholastic Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.29
Half-Breed
by Evelyn Sibley Lampman
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Hannah Fowler
Kentucky trilogy #2
by Janice Holt Giles
Book Club Edition from Houghton Mifflin
for Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Held Fast for England
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Helmet of Navarre
by Burke Wilkinson, illustrated by James W. Williamson
Second Printing from Macmillan
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Press
for Nursery-1st grade
2008 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
from Scholastic Press
for Nursery-1st grade
2008 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hessian
by Howard Fast
from William Morrow & Company
for 11th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
High Towers
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Hill of the Hawk
by Scott O'Dell
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Hornblower Companion
by C. S. Forester
from Bonanza Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Horses of Anger
by James Forman
2nd Printing from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
House Divided
by Ben Ames Williams, jacket & illustrations by Reginald Marsh
from Houghton Mifflin
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
House on Stink Alley
by F. N. Monjo
First Edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Hull-Down for Action
by Armstrong Sperry
from Doubleday & Company
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
I Heard of a River
Land of the Free Series
by Elsie Singmaster, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Impossible Escape
by Steve Sheinkin
from Roaring Brook Press
for 9th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
In Greek Waters
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
In the Hands of the Cave Dwellers
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
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