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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241 Items found Print
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Abraham Lincoln's World
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Al Capone Does My Shirts
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American History in Verse
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Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry
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Augustus Caesar's World
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Beginning of the Republic
A Basic History of the United States Volume 2
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Betty Before X
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Between the Forest and the Hills
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Beyond the Desert Gate
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Boy in the Alamo
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Brethren
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International Adventures
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Bronze Bow
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Calico Captive
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Captain, My Captain
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
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Carver and the Queen
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Children of the Storm
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Churchill
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Co. Aytch
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Code Name Verity
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Colonial Experience
A Basic History of the United States Volume 1
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Colonist of Southwest Africa
The Louis Wessels Commando #5
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
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Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
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Cuban Missile Crisis
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Czar, The
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Darius, Artaxerxes, and Ahasuerus in the Bible
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Daughter of Time
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David Livingstone
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Day of Pleasure
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Duncan's War
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Eagle of the Ninth
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Elizabeth I
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Every Falling Star
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Evidence Not Seen
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Faithful Spy
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Farewell to Manzanar
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Fever 1793
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Fiddler's Gun
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Flight into Spring
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For God and His People
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Forgotten Daughter
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Four Voyages
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George Washington's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster and edited by Rea Berg
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George Whitefield
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God and Ronald Reagan
by Paul Kengor
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Going Solo
by Roald Dahl
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Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
by Laura Amy Schlitz
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2008 Newbery Medal Winner
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Great Escape
by Paul Brickhill
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Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Wonders of the World
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Growing Up in Coal Country
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Growth of America
A Basic History of the United States Volume 4
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Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
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by Jonathan Swift
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Gunner's Run
by Rick Barry
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Faith and Freedom Trilogy #2
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Guns of Thunder
Faith and Freedom Trilogy #1
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Hero Born
by Jin Yong, translated by Anna Holmwood
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Hero of Spionkop
The Louis Wessels Commando #2
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Hidden Treasure
Reformation Trail Series #21
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Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
35th Anniversary Edition from Chosen Books
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History of US Book 1
History of US Book 1
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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History of US Book 10
History of US Book 10
by Joy Hakim
4th edition from Oxford University
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$15.95
History of US Book 2
History of US Book 2
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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History of US Book 3
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
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History of US Book 4
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History of US Book 5
History of US Book 5
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
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History of US Book 6
History of US Book 6
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
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History of US Book 7
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
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History of US Book 8
History of US Book 8
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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History of US Book 9
History of US Book 9
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
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Hitler
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
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Hitler Youth
by Susan Bartoletti
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Hostage Lands
by Doug Bond
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I Must Betray You
by Ruta Sepetys
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Ides of April
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
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If I Perish
by Esther Ahn Kim
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If The South Had Won The Civil War
by MacKinlay Kantor
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