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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263 Items found Print
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Abe Lincoln
by Hilah Paulmier (compiled and edited by), illustrated by Lee Ames
First Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Admiral of the Ocean Sea
by Samuel E. Morison
from Atlantic Monthly Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Buffalo Bill
by Col. William F. Cody
from Harper & Brothers
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Captain Bonneville
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Robert Reynolds
Klickitat from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Age of Faith
Story of Civilization IV
by Will Durant
from Simon and Schuster
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$15.00 (2 in stock)
Age of Voltaire
Story of Civilization IX
by Will & Ariel Durant
from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
All Hands Aloft!
by Lou A. Schmitt
from Howell-North
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Amazing Mr. Doolittle
by Quentin Reynolds
from Appleton-Century-Crofts
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
America is Born
A History for Peter #1
by Gerald W. Johnson (iilustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher)
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
America the Beautiful/ A Man of Destiny
by the editors of Country Beautiful Magazine
from Country Beautiful
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
American Children Through Their Books
by Sister Monica Kiefer
1970 printing from University of Pennsylvania Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
American Fishermen
by Albert Cook Church (photography), text by James B. Connolly
from Bonanza Books
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 1
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 10
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 12
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 2
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 4
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 5
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 6
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 7
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 8
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 9
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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 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 Nation
by John D. Hicks
from Riverside Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
American Sailing Coasters of the North Atlantic
by Paul C. Morris, foreword by Edouard Stackpole
1979 Reprint from Bonanza Books
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank, translated by B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt
Book Club Edition from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Apache Land
by Ross Santee
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Apollo on the Moon
by Henry S. F. Cooper, Jr.
from Dial Press
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Appomattox
by Burke Davis
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Art and Artists of Russia
by Richard Hare
from Methuen
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Auguste and Jacques Piccard: Exploring the Sky and Sea
by Alida Sims Malkus, illustrated by Robert Boehmer
from Kingston House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Autobiography of America
by Mark Van Doren
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Babe Didrikson Zaharias: Striving to Be Champion
by Helen Markley Miller, illustrated by Richard Mlodock
from Encyclopedia Britannica
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Beards' New Basic History of the United States
by Charles A. Beard, Mary R. Beard, and William Beard
from Doubleday & Company
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin
by Carl Van Doren
from Library of America
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (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)
Black Panther of Sivanipalli
by Kenneth Anderson
1960 printing from Rand McNally
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Bombs and Blessings
by Retha Hazel Eldridge
from Review and Herald Publishing Association
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Americans
by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet, illustrated by Charles Child
from Farrar & Rinehart
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Boy Fighter with Andrew Jackson
by H.C. Thomas, illustrated by Henry E. Vallely
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Brave Men
by Ernie Pyle
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
Captain Edward L. Beach: Around the World Under Water
by Beril Becker
from Kingston House
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Cheer the Lonesome Traveller
by Leslie Alexander Lacy, illustrated by James Barkley
from Dial Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
by Amy Hogeboom
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Circle of Seasons
by Ann Nolan Clark; illustrated by W. T. Mars
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Citizen Tom Paine
by Howard Fast
from Duell, Sloan and Pearce
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Clear for Action
by Foster Hailey and Milton Lancelot
Printing D from Bonanza Books
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Governor
by J.G.E. Hopkins, illustrated by William Wilson
from P.J. Kenedy & Sons
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Coming Fury
Centennial History of the Civil War Volume 1
by Bruce Catton
from Doubleday & Company
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Crusades: Iron Men & Saints
by Harold Lamb
from International Collectors Library
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Death Valley Scotty
from Trans-Anglo Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Dragon Tales
by Celia R. Brines
3rd edition from Pacific Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Dynamite Johnny O'Brien
by Milton A. Dalby
from Lowman & Hanford Co.
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Elizabeth of York
by Nancy Lenz Harvey
from Macmillan
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
English Children's Costume
1965 Reprint from A & C Black Ltd.
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Ernest Hemingway: Remaking Modern Fiction
by Paul Rink, illustrated by Robert Boehmer
from Encyclopedia Britannica
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Escape from Corregidor
by Edward D. Whitcomb
from Regnery Publishing, Inc.
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Experts' Book of Boating
by Ruth Brindze (editor), illustrated by Fred Wellbrock
from Prentice Hall
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fighting Indian Warriors
by E. A. Brininstool
from Stackpole Books
for 9th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
First Book Edition of the Star-Spangled Banner
by Francis Scott Key, Richard B. Morris, illustrated by Henry S. Gillette
First Printing from Franklin Watts
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Five Roads to the White House
by Ann E. Weiss
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Flying Squadrons
by S. Paul Johnston
1st edition from Duell, Sloan and Pearce
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (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)
Founders of Freedom in America
by David C. Whitney
from J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co.
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Francis and Clare, Saints of Assisi
by Helen Walker Homan
Stated First Printing from Vision Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (2 in stock)
Frank Lloyd Wright: Living Architecture
by Gorham Munson, illustrated by Dan Siculan
from Encyclopedia Britannica
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Frederic Chopin
by Victor Seroff
from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Friar and the Knight
by Flora Strousse, illustrated by William Wilson
from P.J. Kenedy & Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
From the Eagle's Wing
by Hildegarde Hoyt Swift, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from William Morrow & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Full Fathom Five
by Frank H. Shaw
from Macmillan
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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 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)
Geronimo: The Last Apache War Chief
by Edgar Wyatt, illustrated by Allan Houser
from McGraw-Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Bible Atlas
Ninth printing from Golden Books
for 8th-Adult
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Book of America
by Bruce Catton
Seventh Printing from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (3 in stock)
Great Britain to 1688 / Great Britain Since 1688
by Maurice Ashley and K.B. Smellie
from University of Michigan Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Great Dissenters
by Fred Reinfeld
First Printing from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Great Waters
by Creston Donald Ketchum
from Hutchinson & Co.
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Guns Off Cape Ann
by Kenneth Poolman
from Evans Brothers Limited
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Helmet of Navarre
by Burke Wilkinson, illustrated by James W. Williamson
Second Printing from Macmillan
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Henry M. Stanley
Lives to Remember
by Robert Edmond Alter
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Herbert Hoover Story
by Catherine Owens Peare
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Heritage of Freedom
by Frank Monaghan
from Princeton University Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Heroes of the Army in America
by Charles Morris
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
High Flew the Falcons
by Herbert Molloy Mason, Jr.
1st edition from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
History From the Renaissance to Napoleon
The Wonder Books History of the World
from University of Knowledge
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
History of Human Society: Pioneer America
The History of Human Society
by John R. Alden
1st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
History of Invention
by Egon Larsen
Revised from J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
History of the English People - 4 Volume Set
undated from A. L. Burt Company
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
History Sings
by Hazel Gertrude Kinscella
from University Publishing Company
American Music History for 7th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Horace Mann: Educating for Democracy
by Beril Becker
from Encyclopedia Britannica
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Horseman of the King
by Cyril J. Davey
1970 printing from Christian Literature Crusade
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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