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.
Did you find this review helpful?
229 Items found Print
Active Filters: 2nd grade (Ages 7-8), Trade Paperback
Abe Lincoln Goes to Washington
by Cheryl Harness
from National Geographic
Picture Book Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Adventures of Munford: Munford Meets Lewis & Clark
by Jamie Aramini
from Geography Matters
for 2nd-4th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Munford: The American Revolution
by Jamie Aramini
1st edition from Geography Matters
for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Adventures of Munford: The Klondike Gold Rush
by Jamie Aramini
1st edition from Geography Matters
for 2nd-4th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
Fir from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
AIO Imagination Station Book #06
by Marianne Hering & Marshal Younger
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #09
by Marianne Hering, Marshal Younger
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #13
by Marianne Hering, Nancy I. Sanders
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #14
by Marianne Hering, Nancy I. Sanders
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #15
by Marianne Hering, Nancy I. Sanders
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #20
by Marianne Hering
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
AIO Imagination Station Book #21
by Marianne Hering
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #22
by Marianne Hering & Sheila Seifert
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
Akiak: A Tale From the Iditarod
by Robert J. Blake
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #2
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #4
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
America in the Time of Abraham Lincoln
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
from Heinemann Library
for 1st-4th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99
American Army of Two
On My Own History
by Janet Greeson
Reprint from First Avenue Editions
for 1st-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
And the Word Came With Power
by Joanne Shetler, Patricia Purvis
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
for 2nd-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.50 (2 in stock)
Angel Child, Dragon Child
by Michele Maria Surat
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Angel Knew Papa and the Dog
by Douglas Kaine McKelvey
from Rabbit Room Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.99
Anne Frank's Story
by Carol Ann Lee
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Apples to Oregon
by Deborah Hopkinson
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Arctic Son
by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Wendell Minor
from Disney-Hyperion
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Aurora Means Dawn
by Scott Russell Sanders
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Balto and the Great Race
Totally True Adventures
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
1st Printing from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.99
Baseball Saved Us
by Ken Mochizuki
from Lee & Low Books
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.95
Battle of Gettysburg
Stories From History
by Colin Hynson
from ticktock Media Ltd
for 2nd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
Big-Enough Anna
by Pam Flowers
No Edition Stated from Alaska Northwest Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Billy the Union Soldier with 24 Stickers - Activity Book
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
for 1st-3rd grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
Blue Feather's Vision
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight
from Troll Publishing
Non-fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Blue Feather's Vision
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight
from Troll Publishing
Non-fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Book About Christopher Columbus
by Ruth Belov Gross, Illustrated by Syd Hoff
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Boston Tea Party
from Troll Communications
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Bracelet, The
by Yoshika Uchida
from PaperStar Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Brave Emily
American Girls Molly companion book
by Valerie Tripp, Illustrated by Nick Backes
from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
Building an Igloo
by Ulli Steltzer
from Square Fish Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
Captive Treasure
by Milly Howard
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Charles Darwin - Coloring Book
by John Green
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of the World Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISW)
$3.99
Children of the Dust Bowl
by Jerry Stanley
from Crown Publishers
for 2nd-5th grade
1993 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
$10.99
Children's Color Book of Jamestown in Virginia
by Priscilla Hunt
from The Dietz Pres, Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Choppers!
Step into Reading Level 4
by Susan E. Goodman
from Random House
for Grades 2-3
in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP)
$5.99
Civil War Artist
by Taylor Morrison
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Clearing Weather
by Cornelia Meigs
Repint from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Colonial America
by Donald M. Silver, Patricia J. Wynne
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Times 1600-1700
by Joy Masoff
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Colonial Town: Williamsburg
by Bobbie Kalman
Revised from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Coloring Book of Great Explorers
by Eric Tomb
from Bellerophon Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Columbus Discovers America - Coloring Book
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$4.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Coming to America
by Betsy Maestro
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Copper Lady
On My Own History
by Alice Ross, Kent Ross
from First Avenue Editions
for 2nd-5th grade
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
Country Artist
by David R. Collins
from First Avenue Editions
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Crossing Bok Chitto
by Tim Tingle
from Cinco Puntos Pres
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.95
D-Day Landings
DK Readers Level 4
by Richard Platt
from DK Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in DK Readers (Location: EAR-DK)
$4.99
Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Duel of the Ironclads
by Patrick O'Brien
from Walker and Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
Dust for Dinner
by Ann Turner
from HarperCollins
for 1st-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Earthquake!
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Titanic & 20th Century Disasters (Location: HISW-20DIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Encounter
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Voyager Paperbacks
for 1st-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$8.99
Erie Canal
by Peter Spier
from Doubleday & Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Escape North!
Step into Reading Level 4
by Monica Kulling
from Random House
for Grades 2-3
in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP)
$4.99
Eureka! It's an Airplane
by Jeanne Bendick
from Millbrook Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
F is for Freedom
by Roni Schotter
from Scholastic Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Famous Figures of the American Revolution
from Figures in Motion
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$12.00 (3 in stock)
Farm
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight
from Troll Publishing
Non-fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Finding the Titanic
by Robert D. Ballard
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Scholastic / Hello Reader! (Location: EAR-SCH)
$3.99
First Flight
DK Eyewitness Readers Level 4
by Caryn Jenner
from DK Children
in DK Readers (Location: EAR-DK)
$4.99
First Thanksgiving
Step into Reading Level 3
by Linda Hayward
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP)
$4.99
First Thanksgiving
by Jean Craighead George
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.99
First World War Sticker Book
by Struan Reid
from Usborne
for 1st-4th grade
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
Follow the Drinking Gourd
by Jeanette Winter
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Fourth of July Story
by Alice Dalgliesh
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.99
Freedom on the Menu
by Carole Boston Weatherford
Reprint from Puffin Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$6.99
Freedom Summer
by Deborah Wiles
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
Frontier Village
by Catherine E. Chambers
from Troll Communications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
George Washington Carver: The Peanut Wizard
by Laura Driscoll
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Giving Thanks
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
Glorious Flight
by Martin & Alice Provensen
from Puffin Books
Historical Non-Fiction/Picture Books for 1st-3rd grade
1984 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Going West!
Kalideoscope Kids Book
by Carol A. Johmann, Elizabeth J. Rieth
from Williamson Publishing Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Hanna's Cold Winter
by Trish Marx & Barbara Knutson
from Purple House Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$11.95
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Henry Ford
by Dina El Nabli
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Holling Clancy Holling's Stories from Many Lands
by Holling Clancy Holling
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
$14.99
How Many Days to America?
by Eve Bunting
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
How We Crossed the West
by Rosalyn Schanzer
Reprint from National Geographic
for 2nd-6th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$7.95
If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King
by Ellen Levine
Updated from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution
If You Were There
by Kay Moore
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War
If You Were There
by Kay Moore
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
If You Lived At The Time Of The Great San Francisco Earthquake
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Titanic & 20th Century Disasters (Location: HISW-20DIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
If You Lived in Colonial Times
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.00 (4 in stock)
If You Lived in the Alaska Territory
by Nancy Smiler Levinson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
If You Lived in Williamsburg in Colonial Days
If You Were There
by Barbara Brenner, Jenny Williams (Ilustrator)
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
If You Sailed On the Mayflower in 1620
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
If You Traveled On the Underground Railroad
If You Were There
by Ellen Levine & Larry Johnson
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon
If You Were There
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
If You Were at the First Thanksgiving
by Anne Kamma
First Edition from Scholastic Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
If You Were Me and Lived in... Colonial America
by Carole P. Roman
from CreateSpace
for 1st-3rd grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
123