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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...and now Miguel
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1954 Newbery Medal winner
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13 Colonies: Georgia
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1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving
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50 States Flipper
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7 Continents: Africa
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A Christmas Carol Audio Drama - 2 CD set
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Abe Lincoln
Landmark Series
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Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
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Above the Trenches
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Abraham Lincoln
Heroes of History
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Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
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1940 Caldecott Medal winner
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Abraham Lincoln - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Accidental Voyage
Mr. Pipes Series #4
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Across America
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Across America on an Emigrant Train
by Jim Murphy
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1994 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Across Five Aprils
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Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1965 Newbery Honor Book
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Across Five Aprils
by Irene Hunt
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Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1965 Newbery Honor Book
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Adam of the Road
Puffin Newbery Library
by Elizabeth Gray
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Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1943 Newbery Medal winner
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Adara
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Adoniram Judson
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Biography for 4th-7th grade
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Adopted by Indians
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from Heyday Books
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Sterling Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen
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Adventures of King Arthur - Coloring Book
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Adventures of Perrine
Windermere Readers #10
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1954 edition from Rand McNally
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Adventures of the American Revolution
by Susan Olasky
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Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Puffin Classics
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Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Adventures with the Santa Fe Trail
by Dave Webb, illustrated by Phillip R. Buntin
Revised from Kansas Heritage Center
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Aeneid for Boys and Girls
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Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
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Aeneid for Boys and Girls
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Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
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Africa For Kids
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Africa's Vanishing Wildlife
by Chris & Tilde Stuart
1st edition from Smithsonian Books
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African Plains - Coloring Book
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After the War
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Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!
by Theodore Taylor
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Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!
by Theodore Taylor
1st Gulliver Books pbk. ed from HMH Books for Young Readers
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Airplanes of the Second World War - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Airplanes of World War I - Coloring Book
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Akavak
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Alamo All Stars
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #6
by Nathan Hale
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Alamo!
by George Sullivan
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Alaskan Wildlife - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Albert Schweitzer
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All Aboard for Freedom
by Marie McSwigan, illustrated by E. Harper Johnson, with an introduction by Jan Papanek
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
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$30.00 (1 in stock)
All Thirteen
by Christina Soontornvat
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Daring Rescues for 4th-7th grade
2021 Newbery Honor Book, 2021 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
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$24.99
Almost Home
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
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Amazing Impossible Erie Canal
by Cheryl Harness
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Historical Non-Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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Amelia Earhart: Young Aviator
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Beatrice Gormley
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Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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America At War: Korean War
by John Perritano
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America from the Beginning - Student Manual
by Joshua Franklin, Debbie Lawrence
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America Grows Up
A History for Peter #2
by Gerald W. Johnson
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America in the 1900s and 1910s
Decades of American History
by Jim Callan
from Facts On File
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America in the 1930s
Decades of American History
by Jim Callan
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America in the 1970s
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America in the 1990s
by George Ochoa
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America is Born
A History for Peter #1
by Gerald W. Johnson (iilustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher)
from William Morrow & Company
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America's Ethan Allen
by Stewart H. Holbrook; illustrated by Lynd Ward
9th printing from Houghton Mifflin
Picture Book Biography for 4th-6th grade
1950 Caldecott Honor Book
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
America's First Ladies - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Leslie Franz
Revised Edition from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
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America's Lost Dream
by Tom Dooley
from Master Books
American History for 4th-6th grade
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America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
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America's War Heroes
by Marilyn Boyer
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American Adventures Part 1
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American Adventures Part 2
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 1
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 10
from Dell Publishing
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 12
from Dell Publishing
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 2
from Dell Publishing
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 4
from Dell Publishing
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 5
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 6
from Dell Publishing
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 7
from Dell Publishing
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 8
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 9
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American Heritage History of the Indian Wars
by Robert M. Utley, Wilcomb E. Washburn
Revised from American Heritage Publishing Co.
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in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
American Heroes of the 20th Century
Landmark Giant #14
by Harold & Doris Faber
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Landmark Giants (Location: VIN-LAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
American History for Young Students III
by Michelle Miller
from TruthQuest History
History Curriculum for 1st-6th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
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$29.95
American History in Verse
by Burton Stevenson
from Bob Jones University Press
Poetry for 3rd-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$11.00
American History Stories Volume 1
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
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$11.95
American History Stories Volume 2
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
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$11.95
American History Stories Volume 3
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
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$11.95
American History Stories Volume 4
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
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$11.95
American Indian in Words and Pictures
by Sydney Fletcher
from Grosset & Dunlap
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Indian Prayer Guide
by Danette Maloof, Dean Cozzens
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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$4.50 (3 in stock)
American Indian Tales and Legends
by Vladimir Hulpach, illustrated by Miloslav Troup
from Paul Hamlyn
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
American Plague
by Jim Murphy
from Clarion Books
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2004 Newbery Honor Book, 2004 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner, NCTE Orbi Pictus Award
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$21.99
American Presidents & Presidential First Ladies Notebooking Pages
from Notebooking Pages
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Presidents - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
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$5.99
American Revolution
Landmark Series
by Bruce Bliven
from Random House
Historical Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
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American Revolution
America at War Series
by Alden Carter
from Grolier Publishing
Historical Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
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$6.95 $5.00 (4 in stock)
American Revolution
Revolution!
by R. G. Grant
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Tall Tales
by Mary Pope Osborne, Michael McCurdy
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales & Fables for 4th-8th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Americans Before Columbus
by Elizabeth Baity, illustrated by C.B. Falls
from Viking Press
for 5th-10th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Amethyst Ring
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Amistad - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$3.95
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)
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