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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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Active Filters: Biographies, 5th grade (Ages 10-11)
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Stepping Stone: Totally True Adventures!
by Lori Haskins Houran
from Random House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Abe Lincoln
Landmark Series
by Sterling North
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
by Frances Cavanah
from Rand McNally
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg
from Graphia
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.59
Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Abigail Adams
by Natalie S. Bober
from Simon Pulse
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.86
Abigail Adams Package (FACE)
by Rosalie J. Slater, Evelyn Witter
from Foundation for American Christian Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Principle Approach (Location: HSR-METPA)
$19.20 (1 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$10.19
Abraham Lincoln
by Clara Ingram Judson
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 3rd-7th grade
1951 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26
Abraham Lincoln
Initial Biography
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Historical Non-fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Abraham Lincoln - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$5.09
Admiral Richard Byrd
Sterling Point Books
by Paul Rink
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Historical non-fiction for 5th-9th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
Adoniram Judson
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$10.19
Adventurous Life of Winston Churchill
by Geoffrey Bocca
from Julian Messner
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Africa Is My Home
by Monica Edinger, illustrated by Robert Byrd
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
African Traveler
by Ronald Syme, illustrated by Jacqueline Tomes
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Alaska Bush Pilot
by Charles Coombs
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$11.04
Albert Einstein: Young Thinker
by Marie Hammontree
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Albert Schweitzer
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$10.19
Aleck Bell
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Mable Cleland Widdemer
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Alexander Graham Bell
by Elizabeth MacLeod
from Kids Can Press
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr
Landmark #85
by Russel & Anna Crouse, illustrated by Walter Buehr
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider
by Jean Fritz; illustrated by Ian Schoenherr
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Along Came Galileo
by Jeanne Bendick
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.86
Amelia Earhart
by Francene Sabin and Joanne Mattern, illustrated by Karen Milone
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Amelia Earhart - Coloring Book
by Muriel Earhart Morrissey
from Bellerophon Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Amelia Earhart: Kansas Girl
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Jane Moore Howe
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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)
$6.79
America in the Time of George Washington
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
from Heinemann Library
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
America's Ethan Allen
by Stewart H. Holbrook; illustrated by Lynd Ward
9th printing from Houghton Mifflin
Picture Book Biography for 4th-6th grade
1950 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.04
America's Robert E. Lee
by Henry Steele Commager, illustrated by Lynd Ward
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
American Heroes of the 20th Century
Landmark Giant #14
by Harold & Doris Faber
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Landmark Giants (Location: VIN-LAN)
Amerigo Vespucci
by Nina Brown Baker, illustrated by Paul Valentino
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Amistad - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$3.36
Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1951 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
And the Word Came With Power
by Joanne Shetler, Patricia Purvis
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
for 2nd-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Andrew Carnegie
from Kingston House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Andrew Jackson: Soldier and Statesman
by Ralph K. Andrist
from Harper & Row
for 5th-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Angel of Mercy
by Rachel Baker
from Julian Messner
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Anne Frank: Young Diarist
Childhood of World Figures
by Ruth Ashby
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Annie Oakley: Young Marksman
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Ellen Wilson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$6.79
Answering the Cry for Freedom
by Gretchen Woelfle, Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
from Calkins Creek
for 4th-7th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$16.99
Antonin Dvorak
Julian Messner Shelf of Biographies
by Clair Lee Purdy, illustrated by Edgard Cirlin
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Arctic Explorer
by Jeri Ferris
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 4th-6th grades
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Around the World in a Hundred Years
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Artist of the Reformation
by Joyce McPherson
from Greenleaf Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Assassination of John F. Kennedy: November 22, 1963
24 Hour History
by Terry Collins
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Bad News for Outlaws
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Balboa, Finder of the Pacific
by Ronald Syme, illustrated by William Stobbs
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Balboa:
by Jeannette Mirsky
from Harper & Row
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Balboa: Swordsman and Conquistador
World Landmark #25
by Felix Riesenberg, Jr., illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Basher Five-Two
by Scott O'Grady & Michael French
from Yearling
Autobiography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Beethoven
by Reba Paeff Mirsky
from Follett
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Ben Franklin
Sterling Point Books
by Thomas Fleming
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark Series
by Margaret Cousins
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.94
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark #28
by Margaret Cousins, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Benazir Bhutto
by Englar, Mary
1st edition from Compass Point Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Bonneville, Soldier-Explorer
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Benjamin Franklin
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26 $9.60 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$10.19
Benjamin Franklin, American Genius
by Brandon Marie Miller
from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Benjamin Franklin: Young Printer
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.79
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 Ross
Leaders of the American Revolution
by Vicki Cox
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Betsy Ross and the Flag
Landmark #26
by Jane Mayer, illustrated by Grace Paull
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Betsy Ross: Designer of our Flag
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Ann Weil
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Betsy Ross: Girl of Old Philadelphia
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Ann Weil, illustrated by Al Fiorentino
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Betty Greene
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$10.19
Biography of Benjamin Franklin
Sons of Liberty Series
by William M. Thayer
from A Beka Books
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Biography of George Washington
Sons of Liberty Series
by William M. Thayer
from A Beka Books
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Biography of James A. Garfield
Sons of Liberty Series
by William Thayer
from A Beka Books
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Black Courage
by A. E. Schraff
from Macrae-Smith Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Black Hawk, Young Sauk Warrior
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Cathrine S. Cleven
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
for 5th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.99
Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom - Audio Drama (CD)
from Tyndale House
for 4th-9th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$15.29
Book of Famous Explorers
Young Folks Library
by Edwin Erle Sparks, editor
from Auxiliary Educational League
for 3rd-9th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Booker T. Washington
A Discovery Book
by Lillie G. Patterson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Booker T. Washington
by Shirley Graham
from Julian Messner
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom
by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Michele Wood
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-6th grade
2021 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.29
Boy on the Wooden Box
by Leon Leyson
Reprint from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
Christopher Award
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$9.99
Boy's War
by David Michell
1st edition from OMF
for 5th-8th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Brendan the Navigator
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Brother Andrew
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$10.19
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Buffalo Bill
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26 $9.60 (1 in stock)
Buffalo Bill's Great Wild West Show
Landmark #73
by Walter Havighurst, illustrated by John C. Wonsetler
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Buffalo Bill: Boy of the Plains
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Buffalo Bill: Frontier Daredevil
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Meryl Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$6.79
Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
C. T. Studd
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$10.19
Cabin Boy to Advent Crusader
by Virgil Robinson, illustrated by Harry Baerg
from Southern Publishing Association
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Camels West
by James Ralph Johnson
from David McKay Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Candy Bomber
by Michael O. Tunnell
from Charlesbridge
for 4th-6th grade
in WWII: European Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2E)
$9.95
Captain Cook Explores the South Seas
World Landmark #19
by Armstrong Sperry
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Captain Cook: Pacific Explorer
by Ronald Syme
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Captain John Smith
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$10.19
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