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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: Narrative History, 6th grade (Ages 11-12)
Abe Lincoln
Landmark Series
by Sterling North
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln
by Clara Ingram Judson
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 3rd-7th grade
1951 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Across America on an Emigrant Train
by Jim Murphy
from Sandpiper Books
for 5th-8th grade
1994 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
$10.95
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)
Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!
by Theodore Taylor
from Harcourt
Historical Non-Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$8.99
Alaska Gold Rush
Landmark #92
by May McNeer
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr
Landmark #85
by Russel & Anna Crouse
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
America Grows Up
A History for Peter #2
by Gerald W. Johnson
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-7th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
America is Born
A History for Peter #1
by Gerald W. Johnson (iilustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher)
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
America Moves Forward
A History for Peter #3
by Gerald W. Johnson
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-7th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
America Moves Forward
A History for Peter #3
by Gerald W. Johnson
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
America's First World War
Landmark #77
by Henry Castor
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
American History Stories Volume 1
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$11.95
American History Stories Volume 2
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$11.95
American History Stories Volume 3
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$11.95
American History Stories Volume 4
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$11.95
American Revolution
Landmark Series
by Bruce Bliven
from Random House
Historical Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
American Revolution
America at War Series
by Alden Carter
from Grolier Publishing
Historical Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.95 $5.00 (4 in stock)
American Revolution
Landmark #83
by Bruce Bliven, Jr.
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Americans Into Orbit
Landmark #101
by Gene Gurney
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom
by Walter Dean Myers
from Puffin Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Andrew Carnegie and the Age of Steel
Landmark #80
by Katherine B. Shippen
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Antarctica: Escape from Disaster
by Peter Lerangis
from Scholastic Reference
for 4th-8th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Awakening of Europe
Story of the World Series #3
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Awakening of Europe
Story of the World Series #3
by M. B. Synge
from Living Book Press
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$8.49
Balboa: Swordsman and Conquistador
World Landmark #25
by Felix Riesenberg, Jr.
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Barbary Pirates
Sterling Point Books
by C. S. Forester
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Naval History for 5th-8th grade
in Pirates (Location: HISV-PIRATE)
Battle for Iwo Jima
Landmark #118
by Robert Leckie
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Battle for the Atlantic
Landmark #87
by Jay Williams
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Battle in the Arctic Seas
Sterling Point Books
by Theodore Taylor
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Historical Non-fiction for 3rd-7th
in WWII: European Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2E)
Battle of Britain
World Landmark #10
by Quentin Reynolds
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Battle of Lexington
by Jonas Clark
from Nordskog Publishing
for 6th-10th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.50
Battle of Salerno
Italy, September 1943-1945
by Irving Werstein, with maps by Ava Morgan
First Edition from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Battle of the Bulge
Landmark #114
by John Toland
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Battle of the Little Bighorn
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Battle of the Little Bighorn
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Behind Enemy Lines
Sterling Point Books
by H.R. DeMallie
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in WWII: European Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2E)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
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)
$5.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark #28
by Margaret Cousins
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Ben-Gurion and the Birth of Israel
World Landmark #62
by Joan Comay
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Best Little Stories from World War II
by C. Brian Kelly
1996 Printing from Montpelier Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy Ross and the Flag
Landmark #26
by Jane Mayer
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Bill of Rights
by R. Conrad Stein
for 3rd-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Blizzard!
by Jim Murphy
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-6th grade
2001 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Bomb
by Steve Sheinkin
First Edition from Flash Point
for 5th-9th grade
2013 Newbery Honor Book, 2013 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$24.99 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Boston Tea Party
by James E. Knight
Other Printing from Troll Associates
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
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)
$17.99
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)
$11.99
Brendan the Navigator
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
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)
Building of the First Transcontinental Railroad
Landmark #9
by Adele Nathan, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Building of the First Transcontinental Railroad
Spencer Press Landmark #9 (RH#9)
by Adele Nathan
from Spencer Press
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Building the New York Subway
Cornerstones of Freedom Second Series
by Andrew Santella
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99
California Gold Rush
by May McNeer
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in California State (Location: HISA-19CGR)
California Gold Rush
Landmark #6
by May McNeer & Lynd Ward
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
California Gold Rush
Spencer Press Landmark #7 (RH#6)
by May McNeer & Lynd Ward
from Spencer Press
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.99
Catherine the Great
World Landmark #29
by Katharine Scherman
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Children of the Great Depression
by Russell Freedman
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
2006 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
$10.99
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$5.00 (3 in stock)
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of the New World
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Clara Barton
Landmark #58
by Helen Dore Boylston
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Combat Nurses of World War II
Landmark #116
by Wyatt Blassingame
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Combat Nurses of World War II
Landmark #116
by Wyatt Blassingame
from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$13.99
Coming of the Mormons
Landmark #37
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Commandos of World War II
World Landmark #61
by Hodding Carter
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Commandos of World War II
World Landmark #61
by Hodding Carter
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan
Landmark #56
by Ferdinand Kuhn
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Conquest of the North and South Poles
Landmark #27
by Russell Owen, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Copper Kings of Montana
Landmark #95
by Marian T. Place
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Cowboys of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Sandpiper Books
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Cowboys of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Custer's Last Stand
Landmark #20
by Quentin Reynolds
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Custer's Last Stand
Landmark #20
by Quentin Reynolds
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 5th-9th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
Danger in the Desert
by Roger Cohen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
Daniel Boone
Sterling Point Books
by John Mason Brown
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 3rd-7th
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Daniel Boone: The Opening of the Wilderness
Landmark #21
by John Mason Brown
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Davy Crockett
Landmark #57
by Stewart H. Holbrook
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Disaster at Johnstown: The Great Flood
Landmark #109
by Hildegarde Dolson
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Dolly Madison
Landmark #47
by Jane Mayer
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Ellis Island
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Melissa McDaniel
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
Landmark #66
by Slater Brown
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Explorations of Père Marquette
Landmark #17
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Exploring the Himalaya
World Landmark #36
by William O. Douglas
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
First Overland Mail
Landmark #40
by Robert E. Pinkerton
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
First Transatlantic Cable
Landmark #88
by Adele Nathan
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Flag of the Dreadful Bear
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Flight and Adventures of Charles II
World Landmark #38
by Charles Norman, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Florence Nightingale
World Landmark #46
by Ruth Fox Hume
from Random House
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Flying Aces of World War I
World Landmark #60
by Gene Gurney
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Flying Tigers
Landmark #105
by John Toland
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Freedom Walkers
by Russell Freedman
from Holiday House
for 4th-6th grade
2007 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$14.99
From Casablanca to Berlin
Landmark #112
by Bruce Bliven, Jr.
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
From Glencoe to Stirling
Tales of a Scottish Grandfather Volume 3
by Sir Walter Scott
from Cumberland House
Historical Non-Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa
Landmark #94
by Bruce Bliven
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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