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
by Joseph Krumgold
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1954 Newbery Medal winner
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
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Dear America
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Adventures and Discoveries of Marco Polo
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Sterling Classics
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Adventures of Perrine
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Aeneid for Boys and Girls
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Africa Is Not a Country
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Africa Is Not a Country
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Africa's Vanishing Wildlife
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African Critters
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African Kingdoms
Great Ages of Man
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African Traveler
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After the Train
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Age of Exploration
Great Ages of Man
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Age of Kings
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Air Forces of the World
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Air War Against Hitler's Germany
by Stephen W. Sears
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Alamo All Stars
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #6
by Nathan Hale
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Alaska Gold Rush
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Album of Memories
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Album of the Civil War
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Aleck Bell
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr
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All Aboard for Freedom
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All About Aviation
All About Books #51
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All Quiet on the Western Front
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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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Alma and How She Got Her Name
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Amazing Mr. Doolittle
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Amelia Earhart: Kansas Girl
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Jane Moore Howe
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America 1933
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America and Its People
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America Begins
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America During Four Wars
by Earl Schenck Miers & Felix Sutton
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America Grows Up
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by Gerald W. Johnson, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
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Decades of American History
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America in the 1930s
Decades of American History
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America in the Air War
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America in the Time of George Washington
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
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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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$45.00 (1 in stock)
America is....
by Louise W. Borden, illustrated by Stacey Schuett
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
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America Moves Forward
A History for Peter #3
by Gerald W. Johnson
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America the Beautiful/ A Man of Destiny
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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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$9.60 (1 in stock)
America's Fascinating Indian Heritage
by James A. Maxwell
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America's First World War
Landmark #77
by Henry Castor
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America's Lost Dream
by Tom Dooley
from Master Books
American History for 4th-6th grade
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$12.79 $10.00 (2 in stock)
America's Robert E. Lee
by Henry Steele Commager, illustrated by Lynd Ward
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America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
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America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
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American Adventures
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American Caesar
by William Manchester
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American Children Through Their Books
by Sister Monica Kiefer
1970 printing from University of Pennsylvania Press
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American Fairy Tales
1st edition from Hyperion Books for Children
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans - 12 Volume Set
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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
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American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 3
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