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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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Regional History
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1861: The Civil War Awakening
by Adam Goodheart
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$5.00 (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 $8.50 (1 in stock)
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)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
from Penguin Random House
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
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 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)
$5.00 (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)
$8.00 (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)
Annals
by Tacitus, translated with introduction & notes by A.J. Woodman
from Hackett Publishing Company
for Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Art of Chinese Cuisine
by Hsiang Ju Lin and Tsuifeng Lin
from Tuttle Publishing
for Adult
in International & Ethnic Cooking (Location: COOK-ETH)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
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 Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Bandon by the Sea
by Dow Beckham
from Arago Books
for Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$9.00 (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)
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)
Born to Run
by Christopher McDougall
from Vintage Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bridge to the Sun
by Gwen Terasaki
from Rock Creek Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$14.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Christianity and the Constitution
by John Eidsmoe
from Baker Academics
for Adult
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$25.00 $15.00 (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: Walking with Destiny
by Andrew Roberts
from Penguin Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War Songbook
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (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)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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 $9.50 (1 in stock)
Collector, The
by Jack Nisbet
from Sasquatch Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$11.00 (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)
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 (2 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)
$10.00 (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)
Daughter's Devotion
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Defining Moment
by Jonathan Alter
from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Devil in Massachusetts
by Marion L. Starkey
from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
from Anchor Books
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Dictionary of the Roman Empire
by Matthew Bunson
from Oxford University
for 11th-Adult
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Dubliners
by James Joyce
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.00 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Earth is Weeping
by Peter Cozzens
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Eighteenth Century Europe
by Isser Woloch
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Elizabeth I
Jackdaw No. 53
from Jackdaw Publications
for 8th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men
by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel
1st edition from Open Court Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Emergence of Latin America in the Nineteenth Century
by David Bushnell & Neill Macaulay
from Oxford University
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Enchantress of Florence
by Salman Rushdie
Reprint from Anchor Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
England's Glorious Revolution 1688-1689
by Steven C. A. Pincus
from Bedford Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
English Constitution
by Walter Bagehot
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Exploring Oregon's Historic Courthouses
by Kathleen M. Wiederhold
from Oregon State University Press
for Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Franklin
by David R. Logsdon
4th edition
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Faust: A Tragedy
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Translated by Martin Greenberg
from Yale University Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
FDR
by Jean Edward Smith
from Random House
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
by T.J. Stiles
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Flames of Rome
by Paul L. Maier
2nd edition from Kregel Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Forever Free
by Eric Foner, illustrations edited with commentary by Joshua Brown
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Fort Steele
by Naomi Miller
from Heritage House Publishing Company
for Adult
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Fortune of War
Aubrey/Maturin #6
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Gallic War
by Julius Caesar, translated by H. J. Edwards
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
George MacDonald
by Michael R Phillips
from Bethany House
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Germany: Off the Beaten Track
Off the Beaten Track
by Janet Aldridge, Grant Bourne, etc.
from Moorland Press
for Adult
in Europe (Location: HISMC-EUR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Gettysburg: The Last Invasion
by Allen C. Guelzo
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Girl in the Picture
by Denise Chong
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in Vietnam War (1957-1975) (Location: HISA-20VIE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Glimpses of Truth
Book of Books #1
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Grand Canyon and the Southwest
by Ansel Adams
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 7th-Adult
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Great Battles of the Civil War
from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Great Bridge
by David McCullough
from Simon and Schuster
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$20.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Growing Up with Dick and Jane
by Carole Kismaric & Marvin Heiferman
from HarperCollins
for Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Guide to America's Greatest Historic Places
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Gulf War 1991
by Alastair Finlan
from Osprey Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in 20th Century: 1976-1999 (Location: HISW-20C4)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Heavenly Man
by Brother Yun, Paul Hattaway
from Monarch Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Heidi's Alp
by Christina Hardyment
from Atlantic Monthly Press
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Heyday
by Ben Wilson
from Weidenfeld & Nicolson
for 8th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
History of Britain 2
History of Britain Trilogy #2
by Simon Schama
from BBC Books
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
History of Britain 3
History of Britain Trilogy #3
by Simon Schama
from BBC Books
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Honor in the Dust
by Gregg Jones
from New American Library
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
How Would a Patriot Act?
by Glen Greenwald
from Working Assets Publishing
for Adult
in Government & Civics Resources (Location: GOV-REF)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Hubbell Trading Post
by Erica Cottam
from University of Oklahoma Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
In Search of the Source
by Neil Anderson, Hyatt Moore
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
Missionary Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
In the Land of the Head-Hunters
Reprint from World Book
for 9th-Adult
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison
from Quality Paperback Book Club
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Island at the Center of the World
by Russell Shorto
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Jamestown and the Founding of the Nation
by Warren M. Billings
from Thomas Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Japanese Etiquette
by World Fellowship Committee of the Tokyo YWCA
from Tuttle Publishing
for Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Jarhead
by Anthony Swofford
from Scribner
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Jeanne Guyon
by Jeanne Guyon
1st Ed. from Whitaker House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Jonathan and Sarah
by Edna Gerstner
from Soli Deo Gloria
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Journal of a Trapper
by Osborne Russell, edited by Aubrey L. Haines
from Bison Books
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan
Later Printing
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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