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Vintage History & Biographies

There is a subtle difference between "history" and "current events." At the time of this writing, Russia has invaded Ukraine, and Israel is engaged in a conflict with Hamas. Our world has just resurfaced from the fear spread by COVID-19 and the reactions it spurred, and the United States government is trying to figure out how to combat (or not) a surge of illegal immigration on our Southern border. These are all "historical events" and much is being written about them even as I type. But while facts are facts, we currently don't have them all and lack perspective. 

Two common quotes immediately jump to mind.

The first: "hindsight is 20/20." The idea behind this is that we can see more clearly things that are in our past; as we unearth information and take the time to understand multiple points of view, histories will be written. Many of these will be excellent, though never completely without bias, because of the second saying: "history is written by the victors." The primary sources—and the propaganda—of today will influence the histories of tomorrow.

So vintage history books are a funny thing. Being closer to the original events, some authors had the opportunity to witness the events they write about, or meet their subjects. As such, many of these authors were writing about what, for them, were essentially current events, and thus the books have primary (or secondary) source value. But they are products of their time, and were not immune to propaganda or inaccuracies themselves: the worldviews and prejudices of the authors influenced their work. Others, writing with longer perspective, often had access to sources or witnesses who have since passed away. Either way, views on race, gender, colonization, climate change and many other topics were often vastly different than those of people today; some for the good, and some not so good.

Many of the books here were written in the 1940s-60s, when the USA was fresh from victory in WWII. You might say America was at the peak of her power and glory, though she was then competing for world dominance with the USSR. That isn't to say she was always at her best, but there was a huge drive to educate her youth about her past and her heroes. The Landmark Books, Signature Books, Julian Messner biographies, and many others brought excellent authors and their topics into view of children. Not all of the books are about America, but most of them are, and it's a fair criticism that the selection here is Ameri- and Eurocentric. Looking at the world with a broader lens is generally a blessing of newer publications.

As with anything, when using history books for the education of children, care has to be taken. Keep in mind that good history is question-driven, not philosophy-driven. It's honest about the past, and doesn't whitewash horrible events. It doesn't impose biases onto primary sources or promote a certain perspective by manipulating data; good history lets the historical facts speak for themselves. We won't say all of the books here are good; we WILL say they provide different viewpoints, both for texts from their own time and for those of today. But it is important to read a range of books, both older and newer, to truly understand a diversity of perspectives.

We're working to add more books to this list all the time, and we want to make them as accessible as possible, so we're linking to online versions whenever we can. Look for links to Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, and other sources!

Introduction by Eli Evans
Formerly home educated and now father of five, Eli loves discovering amazing books, new and old, and is an artistic curator at heart. The owner and manager of Exodus since 1998, his focus is on offering thoughtful and well-written books that inspire the imagination and promote creativity and diligence while living for God. Read more of his reviews here.
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Active Filters: 18th Century, 9th grade (Ages 14-15)
Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr
Landmark #85
by Russel & Anna Crouse
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
America Grows Up
A History for Peter #2
by Gerald W. Johnson, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
from William Morrow & Company
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
American Heritage History of the American Revolution
by Bruce Lancaster
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
American Revolution
Landmark #83
by Bruce Bliven, Jr.
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
World's Greatest Literature
by Benjamin Franklin
from Spencer Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Black Man in America
from Franklin Watts
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Captain Cook Explores the South Seas
World Landmark #19
by Armstrong Sperry
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Catherine the Great
World Landmark #29
by Katharine Scherman
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Colonial Living
by Edwin Tunis
from World Publishing Company
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Daniel Boone: The Opening of the Wilderness
Landmark #21
by John Mason Brown
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Dolly Madison
Landmark #47
by Jane Mayer
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
Landmark #66
by Slater Brown
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Everyday Things in American Life: 1607-1776
by William Chauncy Langdon
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Fearless Adventurer
by Arthur Orrmont
from Julian Messner
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
First Lady of the Theatre: Sarah Siddons
by Molly Costain Haycraft
from Kingston House
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
George Rogers Clark, Soldier in the West
by Walter Havinghurst
from McGraw-Hill
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
George Washington and the Making of a Nation
by Marcus Cunliffe
from Troll Associates
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
George Washington's World (pictorial hardcover)
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$38.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington: Frontier Colonel
Landmark #71
by Sterling North
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
George Whitefield: Wayfaring Witness
by Stuart C. Henry
from Abingdon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Heroines of the Early West
Landmark #91
by Nancy Wilson Ross
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Hudson's Bay Company
World Landmark #24
by Richard Morenus
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Lewis and Clark Expedition - 3-volume Set
by Meriwether Lewis
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
Primary Source Documents for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$32.00 (1 in stock)
Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill
by Francis Russell
from Troll Associates
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Life & Times of Washington
by Mario Rivoire
from Curtis Publishing Co.
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Life & Times of Washington
by Mario Rivoire, translated by C.J. Richards
from Arnoldo Mondadori Editore
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Life in Colonial America
Landmark Giant #6
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Random House
for 6th-12th grade
in Landmark Giants (Location: VIN-LAN)
Lone Journey
by Jeanette Eaton, illustrated by Woodi Ishmael
from Harcourt
for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Man Who Wouldn't Give Up: Henry Clay
by Katherine E. Wilkie
from Julian Messner
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Marie Antoinette
World Landmark #20
by Bernadine Kielty
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Marie Antoinette
by Marguerite Vance, illustrated by Nedda Walker
from Junior Literary Guild
for 7th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Marquis de Lafayette
World Landmark #34
by Hodding Carter
from Random House
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Napoleon
by Manual Komroff
from Julian Messner
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Of Courage Undaunted
by James Daugherty
from Viking Press
Non-fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Penn
by Elizabeth Janet Gray
for 7th-10th grade
1939 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Prospects of a Golden Age
by John Dos Passos
from Prentice Hall
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Rogers' Rangers and the French and Indian War
Landmark #63
by Bradford Smith
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Simón Bolívar
World Landmark #14
by Arnold Whitridge
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Spirit of 1776
by Peter Seymour
from Hallmark Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Stories of the French Revolution
by Marcelle & Georges Huisman, translated and adapted by Barbara Whelpton and illustrated by Pierre Noël
from World Publishing Company
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Story of Andrew Jackson
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #13
by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by David Hendrickson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Benjamin Franklin
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #5
by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of George Washington
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #12
by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Haydn
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #49
by Helen L. Kaufmann, illustrated by John Leone
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biographies for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of John Paul Jones
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #20
by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Mad Anthony Wayne
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #24
by Hazel Wilson, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of the Declaration of Independence
by Dumas Malone; pictures by Hirst Milhollen and Milton Kaplan
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Story of the Thirteen Colonies
Landmark #115
by Clifford Lindsey Alderman
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Swamp Fox of the Revolution
Landmark #90
by Stewart H. Holbrook
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Tavern at the Ferry
by Edwin Tunis
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
They Saw America First
by John Bakeless, Katherine Bakeless
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Thomas Jefferson and His World
by Henry Moscow
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Thomas Jefferson: Father of Democracy
Landmark #36
by Vincent Sheean
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
To the Pacific with Lewis and Clark
by Ralph K. Andrist
from Troll Associates
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Tom Paine, Freedom's Apostle
by Leo Gurko, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 6th-10th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Trappers and Traders of the Far West
Landmark #29
by James Daugherty
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
War of the Revolution
by Christopher Ward
from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
We Were There at the Battle of Lexington and Concord
We Were There #20
by Felix Sutton, illustrated by H. B. Vestal
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Boston Tea Party
We Were There #3
by Robert N. Webb, illustrated by E. F. Ward
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There at the Boston Tea Party
by Robert N. Webb
from Dover Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
We Were There When Washington Won at Yorktown
We Were There #17
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Herman B. Vestal
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
We Were There #10
by Robert N. Webb, illustrated by Robert Pious
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There With Lewis and Clark
We Were There #22
by James Munves, illustrated by Robert Glaubke
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
White Nile
by Alan Moorehead
Revised Edition from Harper & Row
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
William Penn: Quaker Hero
Landmark #98
by Hildegarde Dolson
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Winter at Valley Forge
Landmark #33
by F. Van Wyck Mason
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Witchcraft of Salem Village
Landmark #69
by Shirley Jackson
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Year of Independence, 1776
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
History Reference/Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Young Walter Scott
by Elizabeth Janet Gray, jacket and end papers illustrated by Kate Seredy
from Viking Press
for 9th-Adult
1936 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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