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Regional History

Once upon a time, schoolchildren could be expected to know the name of the mountains separating France from Spain, the location of the Nile River, the capitals of all fifty states, and what and where the Pampas could be found. Now, even adults have a hard time naming the most populous city in the U.S. or the countries of Asia. These are, indeed, sad times, and doomed to become sadder if this geographic ignorance is not turned to knowledge.

Without a firm grasp on geography, how can we expect to know anything about history? History is rooted in a sense of place. Why did the Union troops lose the Battle of Cold Harbor? Because they were attacking Confederate fortifications uphill. And if you don't know anything about the Alps, the fact that Hannibal's army crossed them with elephants won't surprise you near as much as it should. Understanding the physical terrain and the demographics of an area are essential to understanding the history of that region.

Which is why studying history by place is such a good idea. There are cultural considerations, of course, and these can be immensely helpful guides in their own right, but simply looking at the lay of the land so to speak will provide a sense of context more abstract boundaries never can. African history, for instance, makes so much more sense if you know what the continent is like.

Even cultures are influenced by geography. Take the United States: some of the most important advances in transportation technology happened within her borders largely due to necessity. The steam engine train was perfected here, automobiles and airplanes were invented here, and in the last few decades we've led the world in space exploration.

It's not that no one traveled before the 19th and 20th century, or outside the North American continent—it's just that because the new nation was so vast, and there were so many natural barriers (the Mississippi River, the Grand Tetons and Great Smokey Mountains, the Mojave Desert), new forms of getting from here to there were not only a good idea, they were a necessity.

There probably isn't one instance in the history of the world in which geography and events weren't directly tied. Certainly this is true for military history, and exploration, and agriculture, but it's also true of ideas and ideologies. Part of the reason slavery was such an important part of Southern culture in the U.S. was that cotton was an immensely growable crop and only armies of slaves could be counted on to get all the work done; in order to justify the use of forced labor, however, a philosophical ethos was developed.

Other instances may be more obscure, but no less true. In France, the mild climate and fertile country led to a series of approaches to thought that emphasized experience and the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake (particularly existentialism); in ancient Greece, the geographical isolation enforced by mountains and seas allowed democratic polity to emerge among the city states.

Geography and history are pretty much Siamese twins, and academic technology has not advanced to the point where they can be separated without risk of life to both. We've organized the subcategories in this section along pretty standard lines (continents, countries, and the like), but standards arise because they work. Explore a region you're unfamiliar with; you're likely to uncover quite a few surprises.

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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1421: The Year China Discovered America
by Gavin Menzies
1st edition from William Morrow & Company
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
1491
by Charles C. Mann
2nd ed. from Vintage Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$16.15
1776
by David McCullough
from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$16.14
1861: The Civil War Awakening
by Adam Goodheart
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith
by G. Frederick Owen
from Tyndale House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald
from Vintage Classics
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$16.00
Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Robert Fagles
from Penguin Putnam
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$20.00
Against the Tide
by Hope Irvin Marston
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.99
Age of Religious Wars
by Richard S. Dunn
2nd edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
from Penguin Random House
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Amazing Grace
by Eric Metaxas
from HarperOne
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.99
America's Christian History
by Gary DeMar
2nd edition from American Vision Press
for 10th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
America's Longest War
by George C. Herring
2nd edition from McGraw-Hill
for 11th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
America's Providential History
by Mark Beliles & Stephen McDowell
from Providence Foundation
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$8.00 (6 in stock)
American Civil War
by Robert K. Krick
from Osprey Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
American Civil War
by John Keegan
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$16.11
American Covenant
by Marshall Foster
from Mayflower Institute
for 9th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
American Passage
by Vincent J. Cannato
from Harper Perennial
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Revolutionaries
by Milton Meltzer
from HarperCollins
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
by Gordon S. Wood
from Penguin Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Analects
by Confucius; translated by Annping Chin
from Penguin Random House
for Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Rome
by Richard Maybury
2nd edition from Bluestocking Press
for 9th-Adult
in Uncle Eric books (Location: ECON-ERIC)
$11.95
And There Was Light
by Jacques Lusseyran
Third Edition from New World Library
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.95
Annals of Imperial Rome
Penguin Classics
by Tacitus
from Penguin Classics
Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$19.00
Anne Bradstreet
by Heidi L. Nichols
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Anne Bradstreet
Christian Renegades Series
by Doug Wilson
3rd edition from Canon Press
Biography for
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.95
Anno's Journey
by Mitsumasa Anno
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 2nd-Adult
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.95
Antebellum America: 1784-1850
American History by Era Volume 4
by William Dudley (book editor)
from Greenhaven Press
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1798-1939
by Albert Hourani
2007 Printing from Cambridge University
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Arguing about Slavery
by William Lee Miller
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$15.26
Art of Chinese Cuisine
by Hsiang Ju Lin and Tsuifeng Lin
from Tuttle Publishing
for Adult
in International & Ethnic Cooking (Location: COOK-ETH)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Arthur Erskine's Story
Reformation Trail Series #14
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$25.95
Association of Small Bombs
by Karan Mahajan
from Penguin Books
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of the North American Indian
by Carl Waldman
1st edition from Facts On File
for 9th-Adult
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Awakening of Miss Prim
by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera
from Atria Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Band of Brothers
by Stephen Ambrose, Foreword by Tom Hanks
25th anniversary from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$16.99
Bandon by the Sea
by Dow Beckham
from Arago Books
for Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Basic History of the United States - Complete Set with Teacher's Guide
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-12th grade
in Basic History of the United States (Location: HISCUR-BHUS)
$104.55
Battle Cry of Freedom
Oxford History of the United States
by James M. McPherson
from Oxford University
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$23.79
Beginning of the Republic
A Basic History of the United States Volume 2
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
in Basic History of the United States (Location: HISCUR-BHUS)
$17.00
Best Hikes with Kids: Western Washington & the Cascades
by Joan Burton, photos by Ira Spring
from Mountaineers Books
for Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Between Babel and Beast
by Peter J. Leithart
from Cascade Books
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$28.00
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)
Between Worlds
by Marilyn R. Gardner
from Doorlight Publications
for Adult
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Beyond the Sacred Page
Book of Books #2
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bhagavad Gita
by Anonymous
Modern Reprint from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$8.95
Bitter Woods: The Battle of the Bulge
by John S. D. Eisenhower
1st edition from Da Capo Press
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Black & Tan
by Doug Wilson
from Canon Press
for Adult
in Culture & Discernment (Location: XCU-DIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Black Odyssey
by Mary Cable
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Bonhoeffer
by Eric Metaxas, foreword by Timothy J. Keller
Revised and Updated from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$26.99
Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
by Bryan Mealer, William Kamkwamba
from Harper Perennial
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
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
Bring Your Eyes and See
International Adventures
by Steve Goode, Mary Goode
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$12.00
Buffalo Bill and the Wild West
by Henry Blackman Sell and Victor Weybright
Reprint from International Cody Family Assoc.
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$11.25 (1 in stock)
Butter in the Well: Historical Diary 1868-1888
by Linda K. Hubalek
from Butterfield Books
for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Caine Mutiny
by Herman Wouk
from Back Bay Books
for 10th-Adult
1952 Pulitzer Prize Winner
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Call to Conscience
by Martin Luther King, Jr., Edited by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shepard
from Grand Central Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Captain Dreyfus
by Nicholas Halasz
from Grove Press, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$1.00 (1 in stock)
Catch-22
by Joseph Heller
50th Anniversary Edition from Simon and Schuster
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Catch-22
by Joseph Heller
from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Charis in the World of Wonders
by Marly Youmans
from Ignatius Press
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.95
Christianity and the Constitution
by John Eidsmoe
from Baker Academics
for Adult
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Christina Alberta's Father
by H.G. Wells
from The Hogarth Press
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Chronological and Background Charts of the New Testament
by H. Wayne House
from Zondervan
Biblical Reference for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament
by John Walton
2nd edition from Zondervan
Biblical Reference for 9th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Churchill
by Paul Johnson
Reprint from Penguin Putnam
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.00
Churchill: Walking with Destiny
by Andrew Roberts
from Penguin Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Citizen Soldiers
by Stephen Ambrose
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$18.69
Civil War
Penguin Classics
by Julius Caesar
from Penguin Classics
Primary Source Documents for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$14.00
Civil War Songbook
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War: 1850-1895
American History by Era Volume 5
by Auriana Ojeda, book editor
from Greenhaven Press
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$11.20 (1 in stock)
Civil War: A History
by Harry Hansen, Introduction by Richard S. Wheeler, Foreword by Gary Gallagher
from New American Library
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War: A Narrative - 3 Volume Set
by Shelby Foote
1st Vintage Books Ed from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$74.80
Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance
by John R. Hale
from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Classic Myths to Read Aloud
by William F. Russell
from Three Rivers Press
in Reading Aloud & Story-telling (Location: LIR-RAST)
$16.00
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
Code Girls
by Liza Mundy
from Hachette
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Collector, The
by Jack Nisbet
from Sasquatch Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Experience
A Basic History of the United States Volume 1
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
in Basic History of the United States (Location: HISCUR-BHUS)
$17.00
Colonial Period: 1607-1750
American History by Era Volume 2
by Brenda Stalcup (editor)
from Greenhaven Press
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.80 (1 in stock)
Color the Pacific Northwest
by Zoe Keller
Clr Csm from Timber Press, Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in Adult Coloring Books (Location: COL-ADULT)
$12.99
Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Jack Zipes
3rd edition from Bantam Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$25.00
Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
from Bantam Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Concise History of Ireland
by Fitzroy Maclean
3 Sub from Thames and Hudson
for 9th-Adult
in Great Britain / England (Location: HISMC-BRIT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Conquest of Gaul
Penguin Classics
by Julius Caesar
from Penguin Classics
Primary Source Documents for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$12.00
Consolation of Philosophy
by Ancius Boethius
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Conversations with Myself
by Nelson Mandela, foreword by Barack Obama
from Picador
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Cornelius Ryan World War II Trilogy
by Cornelius Ryan
from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Cry, the Beloved Country
by Alan Paton
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Czech Reader
by Jan Bazant, Nina Bazantova, and Frances Starn, editors
from Duke University Press
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Daily Life in Johnson's London
by Richard B. Schwartz
1st edition
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Darius, Artaxerxes, and Ahasuerus in the Bible
by James B. Jordan
from Athanasius Press
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Commentaries (Location: XBI-COMM)
$8.95
Death Valley & the Amargosa
by Richard E. Lingenfelter
from University of California Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Debunking Howard Zinn
by Mary Grabar
from Regnery Publishing, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$16.00
Defending Constantine
by Peter Leithart
from InterVarsity Press
for 10th-Adult
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$38.99
Defining Moment
by Jonathan Alter
from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Democracy in America
Penguin Classics
by Alexis De Tocqueville
from Penguin Classics
American Government for 11th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.00
Democracy in America
by Alexis De Tocqueville
from Harper Perennial
American Government for 11th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$22.99
Devil in Massachusetts
by Marion L. Starkey
from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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