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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: Autobiographies & Memoirs
Adventures of Davy Crockett
by David Crockett, illustrated by John W. Thomason
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Theodore Roosevelt
by Theodore Roosevelt
from National Geographic
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$11.20
Agatha Christie: An Autobiography
by Agatha Christie
2012 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Aku-Aku
by Thor Heyerdahl
from Rand McNally
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth
by M. K. Gandhi
from Navajivan Publishing House
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
by Ruud van der Rol & Rian Verhoeven
from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank, translated by B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt
Book Club Edition from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Annotated Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
by Ulysses S. Grant
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
At the End of the Santa Fe Trail
by Sister Blandina Segale
4th Printing from Bruce Publishing Co.
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Dover Thrift Editions
by Benjamin Franklin
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.95
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
World's Greatest Literature
by Benjamin Franklin
from Spencer Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini
by Benvenuto Cellini
from International Collectors Library
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Autobiography of George Muller
by George Muller
from Whitaker House
Biography for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.49
Autobiography of William Allen White
by William Allen White
from Macmillan
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Beatrix Potter's Journal (Abridged)
by Beatrix Potter, abridged and introduced by Glen Cavaliero
from Viking Press
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Behind the Scenes
by Elizabeth Keckley, edited by Frances Smith Foster
from Lakeside Press
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings
Signet Classics
by Benjamin Franklin
Reprint from Signet Classics
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$5.06
Between the Lines
by Tom and Delphine Frazier
from Regent Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Bombs and Blessings
by Retha Hazel Eldridge
from Review and Herald Publishing Association
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Born to Run
by Christopher McDougall
from Vintage Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
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 Voyage
Modern Library Exploration
by Tim Severin
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.00
Bridge to the Sun
by Gwen Terasaki
from Rock Creek Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
Bruchko
by Bruce Olson
Updated from Charisma House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bruchko and the Motilone Miracle
by Bruce Olson
from Charisma House
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.74
Chasing Space for Young Readers
by Leland Melvin
from Amistad Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$9.99
Children of the Storm
by Natasha Vins
from Bob Jones University Press
Autobiography for 8th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.64
China Cry
by Nora Lam with Richard Schneider
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Choices, Changes
by Joni Eareckson Tada
from Zondervan
Biography for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Co. Aytch
by Sam Watkins
from Touchstone
Historical Non-fiction for 8th-Adult
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$17.00
Comes the Comrade!
by Alexandra Orme, translated from the Polish by M.A. Michael and L. Meyer
from William Morrow & Company
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Corrie Ten Boom
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
Cry of the Kalahari
by Mark and Delia Owens
from Houghton Mifflin
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Defeating the Totalitarian Lie
by Hilmar Von Campe
from HighWay
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Devil at My Heels
by Louis Zamperini and David Rensin, foreword by John McCain
from William Morrow & Company
for 8th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Diary of a Napoleanic Foot Soldier
by Jakob Walter
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.20 (1 in stock)
Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
from International Collectors Library
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
from Bantam Books
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.64
Discovery of Guiana
by Walter Raleigh
from Living Book Press
for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$6.99
Early Days of a Cowboy on the Pecos
by James F. Hinkle
from Unknown Publisher
for 7th-12th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Eleanor's Story
by Eleanor Ramrath Garner
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
for 7th-9th grade
in WWII: European Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2E)
Escape from Corregidor
by Edward D. Whitcomb
from Regnery Publishing, Inc.
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Escape from Slavery
by Frederick Douglass, edited and illustrated by Michael McCurdy, foreword by Coretta Scott King
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 6th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.89 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Falcons of France
by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall
from Little, Brown & Company
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Fatty Legs
by Christy Jordan-Fenton, Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
from Annick Press
for 5th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Fighting the Flying Circus
by Captain Eddie V. Rickenbacker
1965 Edition from Doubleday & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
First They Killed My Father
by Loung Ung
from Harper Perennial
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
First Voyage to America
by Christopher Columbus
from Dover Publications
Historical Primary Sources for 10th-Adult
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$9.95
Flying to the Moon
by Michael Collins
2nd edition from Sunburst Book
for 4th-8th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$8.99
Forever Flying
by R.A. "Bob" Hoover with Mark Shaw, foreword by Chuck Yeager
from Pocket Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Fortunate Grandchild
by Miss Read
1st US Edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Four Voyages
by Christopher Columbus
from Penguin Classics
Historical Primary Sources for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$14.45
Freighters and Pilgrims
Knowledge Keepers Home Library Series 1865
by Charles E. Young and Sarah Raymond Herndon
from Knowledge Keepers
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
From a Name to a Number
by Alter Wiener
from Authorhouse
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$10.40 (1 in stock)
From Immigrant to Inventor
by Michael Pupin
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Going Solo
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Good-Bye To All That
by Robert Graves, introduction by Paul Fussell
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Heavenly Man
by Brother Yun, Paul Hattaway
from Monarch Books
for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$11.89 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
Signet Classics
by Helen Keller
Reprint from Signet Classics
Autobiography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.06 $2.80 (1 in stock)
Helen Keller: The Story of My Life
Signet Classics
by Helen Keller
from Living Book Press
Autobiography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.59
Here Is Your War
by Ernie Pyle; illustrated by Carol Johnson
1943 Printing from World Publishing Company
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Hidden
by Fanya Gottesfeld Heller with Joshua M. Greene
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
from Bantam Books
Biography for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.64
Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
35th Anniversary Edition from Chosen Books
Biography for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.29
Hiding Place - Young Reader's Edition
by Corrie Ten Boom, abridged by Lonnie Hull DuPont, illustrated by Tim Foley
from Chosen Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Homesick: My Own Story
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
How I Learned Geography
by Uri Shulevitz
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 2nd-5th grade
Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.69
Hudson Taylor
Men of Faith
by J Hudson Taylor
2nd edition from Bethany House
for 6th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
In My Father's House
by Corrie Ten Boom
First Edition from Revell Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
In My Father's House
by Corrie Ten Boom
Book Club Edition from Power Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
In the Land of the Blue Burqas
by Kate McCord
from Moody Press
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.59
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
by Harriet Jacobs
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 $3.00 (1 in stock)
James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories
by James Herriot
First Printing from St. Martin's Press
for 8th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Jarhead
by Anthony Swofford
from Scribner
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Jeanne Guyon
by Jeanne Guyon
1st Ed. from Whitaker House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Journals of Lewis & Clark
Signet Classics
by John Bakeless, editor
from Signet Classics
Primary Source Documents for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.46
Journey and Ordeal of Cabeza de Vaca
Dover editions
by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
from Dover Publications
for 5th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$9.31
Junior Officer's Reading Club
by Patrick Hennessey
from Riverhead Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Kindertransport
by Olga Levy Drucker
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Kit Carson's Autobiography
by Kit Carson
from University of Nebraska
Autobiography for 9th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Kon-Tiki
by Thor Heyerdahl
from Pocket Books
Non-fiction/Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.64
Kon-Tiki
by Thor Heyerdahl, Translated by F. H. Lyon
from Rand McNally
Non-fiction/Adventure for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Kon-Tiki Expedition
by Thor Heyerdahl, illustrated by Eric Palmquist
from Rand McNally
Non-fiction/Adventure for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Land of the Morning
by Jean McAnlis McMurdie
from American Home-School Publishing
Biography for 10th-Adult
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
Last Grain Race
by Eric Newby
1st Printing from Houghton Mifflin
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$32.00 (1 in stock)
Laura Ingalls Wilder: Pioneer Girl
by Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Pamela Smith Hill
from South Dakota State Historical Society Press
for 7th-Adult
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$39.99
Lewis and Clark Expedition - 3-volume Set
by Meriwether Lewis
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
Primary Source Documents for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$32.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Diary of David Brainerd
by David Brainerd
from Baker Books
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.45
Life and Diary of David Brainerd
by David Brainerd
from Moody Press
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$19.20 (1 in stock)
Life of Josiah Henson
by Josiah Henson
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.25
Life on the Mississippi
Signet Classics
by Mark Twain
from Signet Classics
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.21
Life Sentence
by Charles W. Colson
Second Printing from Chosen Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Log of Christopher Columbus
by Christopher Columbus, translated by Robert Fuson
1992 Printing from International Marine / McGraw-Hill
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
Lonely but Not Alone
by HRH Wilhelmina, Princess of the Netherlands
from McGraw-Hill
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Lost Executioner
by Nic Dunlop
1st edition from Walker and Company
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Lost Names
by Richard E. Kim
2nd edition from University of California Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$23.95
Man's Search for Meaning - Young Readers edition
by Viktor E. Frankl; foreword by John Boyne
from Beacon Press
for 6th-12th grade
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$11.99
March (Book One)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
March (Book Three)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin; illustrated by Nate Powell
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
2017 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner, Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$19.99
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