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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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Vintage History & Biographies
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Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Library Binding
Abe Lincoln's Other Mother
by Bernadine Bailey, illustrated by Howard Simon
from Responsive Environments Corp.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Among the Plains Indians
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
And Long Remember
by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Andrew Jackson: Pioneer and President
by John Parlin, illustrated by William Hutchinson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Art of the Spanish in the United States and Puerto Rico
by Shirley Glubok
from Macmillan
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Athenians In the Classical Period
Life Long Ago
by Leonard Weisgard (pictures and text)
from Coward McCann
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$48.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Bonneville, Soldier-Explorer
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Benjamin Franklin: First Great American
Piper Books
by John Tottle, illustrated by Harve Stein
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th 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)
Booker T. Washington
by Shirley Graham
from Julian Messner
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Cabinetmakers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Camels West
by James Ralph Johnson
from David McKay Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Coronado and His Captains
by Camilla Campbell, illustrated by Harve Stein
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Cross and Crescent
by Richard Suskind, illustrated by Victor Lazzaro
1st edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Dan Morgan
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Bernice Bryant
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Daniel Boone
by Edna McGuire, illustrated by Jack Merryweather
from Wheeler Publishing, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Davy Crockett
by Sanford Tousey
3rd Printing 1955 from Albert Whitman & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Doctors
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Dust Bowl
by Patricia Lauber
Cadmus Edition from E.M. Hale and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
Landmark #66
by Slater Brown, illustrated by William Moyers
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Exploring the World of Archaeology
by P.E. Cleator, designed by Mary Gehr
from Children's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
First Steamboat on the Mississippi
North Star Books #31
by Sterling North
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Flag of the Dreadful Bear
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Forts in America
by Harold L. Peterson
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 4th-8th 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)
Frontiersman
by Marian T. Place
First Ediition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Gallaudet: Friend of the Deaf
by Etta DeGering, illustrated by Emil Weiss
from David McKay Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Gasoline Buggy of the Duryea Brothers
by Robert B. Jackson
from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Glassmakers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-8th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Henry Hudson
by Nina Brown Baker, illustrated by George Fulton
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$64.00 (1 in stock)
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)
John and Sebastian Cabot
by Henry Ira Kurtz
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
John Paul Jones
by Donald E. Worcester, illustrated by Forrest Orr
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Kit Carson
American Adventure Series
by Frank Beals, illustrated by Jack Merryweather
from Wheeler Publishing, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lafayette: French-American Hero
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Landmark History of the American People Volume 2
Landmark Giant #21
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Random House
for 4th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Let's be Early Settlers With Daniel Boone
by Peggy Parish, illustrated by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCrest
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Let's Go Down the Mississippi with La Salle
by Naomi Buchheimer, illustrated by Albert Micale
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Magic of Spices
by E. Joseph Dreany
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Mark Twain: Boy of Old Missouri
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Mariam E. Mason
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 3rd-6th 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)
Okolo of Nigeria
by Peter Buckley
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Papermakers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Peddlers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
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)
Pirates and Privateers
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Potters
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Printers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Robert Fulton: Steamboat Builder
A Discovery Book
by Joanne Landers Henry, illustrated by Tran Mawicke
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Settlers on a Strange Shore
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Shoemakers
Colonial American Craftsmen
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Stalwart Men of Early Texas
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th 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 Ancient Egypt
by Barbara Sewell
from Edward Arnold
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Story of Two Years Before the Mast
by Frank L. Beals, illustrated by E.E. King, original story by Richard H. Dana Jr.
Adapted & Retold from Benj. H. Sanborn & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Talking Totem Poles
by Glenn Holder
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Taller Than Bandai Mountain
by Dan D'Amelio, illustrated by Fred Banbery
from Viking Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
They Put Out to Sea
by Roger Duvoisin
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$58.00 (1 in stock)
True Book of Knights
by John Lewellen, illustrated by Frances Eckart
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
True Story of Albert Einstein
by Ruth L. Oldfield
from Children's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Wilderness Trail
Our Changing World
by Allen Chaffee, illustrated by Earl B. Winslow
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Will Rogers
by Cathareen L. Bennett
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
William Bradford of Plymouth Colony
by W.J. Jacobs
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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