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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: 19th Century, 4th grade (Ages 9-10)
1812: The War and the World
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
by Frances Cavanah
from Rand McNally
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln
A Discovery Book
by Anne Colver
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Abraham Lincoln
Initial Biography
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Historical Non-fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Adventures of Lewis and Clark
North Star Books #29
by John Bakeless
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
African Traveler
by Ronald Syme, illustrated by Jacqueline Tomes
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
America's Robert E. Lee
by Henry Steele Commager, illustrated by Lynd Ward
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Angel of Mercy
by Rachel Baker
from Julian Messner
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Antonin Dvorak
Julian Messner Shelf of Biographies
by Clair Lee Purdy, illustrated by Edgard Cirlin
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Appomattox
by Burke Davis
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
As Far as the Eye Can Reach
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
from Random House
Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
Benjamin Bonneville, Soldier-Explorer
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Black Courage
by A. E. Schraff
from Macrae-Smith Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Black Hawk, Young Sauk Warrior
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Cathrine S. Cleven
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Booker T. Washington
A Discovery Book
by Lillie G. Patterson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Boys' Book of the West
by Amy Hogeboom
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Buffalo Bill
by Frank L. Beals, illustrated by Jack Merryweather
1959 Edition from Wheeler Publishing, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Building the Suez Canal
by S. C. Burchell
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Cabin Boy to Advent Crusader
by Virgil Robinson, illustrated by Harry Baerg
from Southern Publishing Association
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
California Gold Days
by Helen Bauer
1961 Printing from California State Department of Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Camel Express
Winston Adventure Books
by Olive Burt, illustrated by Joseph C. Camana
First Edition from John C. Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Camels West
by James Ralph Johnson
from David McKay Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Commodore Perry in Japan
by Robert Reynolds
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Cowboys and Cattle Drives
Frontiers of America
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Garden City Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
David Glasgow Farragut
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by Paul Frame
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Eli Whitney: Great Inventor
by Jean Lee Latham
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Flag of the Dreadful Bear
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Flatboats and Wagon Wheels
by Mildred Houghton Comfort, illustrated by Dirk Gringhuis
from Beckley-Cardy Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
For Ma and Pa
by Wilma Pitchford Hays, illustrated by Peter Burchard
from Coward McCann
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Forts in the Wilderness
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Forward March to Freedom
by Barbara Kay Greenleaf
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Frontiersman
by Marian T. Place
First Ediition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Gold in California
North Star Books #2
by Paul I. Wellman, illustrated by Lorence F. Bjorklund
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Gold Rush
by May McNeer, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book History of the United States Volume 5
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Golden Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book History of the United States Volume 6
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Golden Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book History of the United States Volume 7
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Golden Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book of the Civil War
by Charles Flato (adapter), with an introduction by Bruce Catton
from Golden Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Here Rolled the Covered Wagons
by Albert Salisbury
from Superior Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Hunters Blaze the Trails
by Edith S. McCall
New 1980 Edition from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hunters Blaze the Trails
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Indians and Cowboys
by Sanford Tousey
1951 Edition from Rand McNally
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Ironclads of the Civil War
by Frank R. Donovan
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
James Clerk Maxwell and Electromagnetism
Immortals of Science
by Charles Paul May
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
James J. Hill: Young Empire Builder
by Mildred Comfort
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Jane Addams
A Discovery Book
by Helen Stone Peterson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Jed Smith, Young Western Explorer
by Olive W. Burt
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Joe Meek
by Shannon Garst
from Julian Messner
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Charles Fremont
by Ronald Syme, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Jacob Aster: Boy Trader
by Dorothy S. Anderson, illustrated by Gray Morrow
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Kit Carson
A Discovery Book
by Nardi Reeder Campion, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Kit Carson: Folk Hero and Man
by Noel B. Gerson
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Let's Go to the Battle of Gettysburg
by Judith Spiegelman, Illustrated by Charles Dougherty
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lewis and Clark: Explorers to the West
by Madge Haines, Leslie Morrill, illustrated by William Hutchinson
from Abingdon Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Linda Richards
A Discovery Book
by David R. Collins
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Little Annie Oakley and Other Rugged People
by Stewart H. Holbrook
First Ediition from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Louis Braille
by J. Alvin Kugelmass
12th Printing from Julian Messner
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lucretia Mott
A Discovery Book
by Doris Faber
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Marconi: Pioneer of Radio
by Douglas Coe
10th Printing from Julian Messner
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman
A Discovery Book
by Marian T. Place
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Mark Twain on the Mississippi
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Robert Frankenberg
from World Publishing Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Meet Abraham Lincoln
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Barbara Cary
from Random House
Biography for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.94
Meet Thomas Jefferson
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.24 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Mosquitoes in the Big Ditch
Winston Adventure Books
by Roger Burlingame; illustrated by Helen Tee-Van
from John C. Winston
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Napoleon
by Manual Komroff
from Julian Messner
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Nelson and the Age of Fighting Sail
by Oliver Warner
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
One More Valley, One More Hill
by Linda Lowery
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Pictorial Encyclopedia of American History Volume 7
from United States Capital Historical Society
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Pioneer Traders
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Pioneering on the Plains
Frontiers of America
by Edith McCall, illustrated by Carol Rogers
from Children's Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Portugee Phillips and the Fighting Sioux
by A. M. Anderson, illustrated by Jack Merryweather
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Prairie Schooners West
by Mildred Houghton Comfort, illustrated by Dirk Gringhuis
from Beckley-Cardy Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
River-Boy
by Isabel Proudfit
1958 Printing from Julian Messner
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Rush for Gold
by Frank L. Beals, illustrated by Jack Merryweather
from California State Department of Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Sitting Bull: Champion of his People
by Shannon Garst
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Stalwart Men of Early Texas
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Stanley, African Explorer
by Fredrika Shumway Smith
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Steamboats to the West
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Story of Abraham Lincoln
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #9
by Nina Brown Baker, illustrated by Warren Baumgartner
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Beethoven
Signature Books #41
by Helen L. Kaufmann, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Crazy Horse
Signature Books #28
by Enid Lamonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by William Reusswig
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Daniel Boone
Signature Books #15
by William O. Steele, illustrated by Warren Baumgartner
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Davy Crockett
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #3
by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by C. B. Falls
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Dwight D. Eisenhower
Signature Books #38
by Arthur J. Beckhard, illustrated by Charles H. Geer
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Edith Cavell
Signature Books #47
by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Gerald McCann
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Eli Whitney
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
1st edition from Aladdin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Story of George Washington Carver
Signature Books #17
by Arna Bontemps, illustrated by Harper Johnson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Geronimo
Signature Books #44
by Jim Kjelgaard, illustrated by Charles Banks Wilson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Lafayette
Signature Books #7
by Hazel Wilson, illustrated by Edy Legrand
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biograhy for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Louisa May Alcott
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #35
by Joan Howard, illustrated by Flora Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Mark Twain
Signature Books #23
by Joan Howard, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Stephen Decatur
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #29
by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Graham Kaye
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Stephen Foster
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #31
by Esther M. Douty, illustrated by Jo Polseno
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Winston Churchill
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #40
by Alida Sims Malkus, illustrated by H. B. Vestal
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Tad Lincoln
A Discovery Book
by LaVere Anderson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Thaddeus Lowe: America's One-Man Air Corps
by Mary Hoehling
from Kingston House
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
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)
To Heaven on Horseback
by Paul Cranston
from Julian Messner
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
True Story of Napoleon
by Anthony Corley
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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