The National Geographic Society 100 Years of Adventure and Discovery (1987)

The National Geographic Society

100 Years of Adventure and Discovery

Updated and Enlarged

By C. D. B. Bryan

Copyright 1987

Physical Description: Hardcover book with Jacket, Large (12', 9.5', 1.5'), 484 Pages

OCLC Number / Unique Identifier: 15317056

Contents: Contents: Introduction, 1888-1900 North and South Poles Conquered, 1900-1905 Natural Disasters, 1905-1920 Archeology, 1920-1930 Glorious Expeditions, 1930-1940 The Depths, 1940-1950 War and Conflict, 1950-1957 The Heights, 1957-1967 Space, 1967-1977 Conservation, 1977-1988 Inner Space, Acknowledgements, Bibliography, Index, Credits

Summary: C.D.B. Bryan's brilliant centennial history of the National Geographic Society- essentially tracing the story of exploration, science, and discovery in the 20th Century-sold nearly a million copies a decade ago. The Washington Post called it "a completely fascinating and absorbing book."  Many changes have taken place in the world and at the Society since then, more than enough reason for this enlarged, updated edition.  

All of the text and photographs from the original book are here just as they first appeared, along with two new chapters by C.D.B. Bryan and some forty new color photographs. This new material tells of dramatic changes in the editorship of the Magazine and in the leadership of the Society. Bryan documents a variety of innovations and explores the new contributions that the Society has made to education in geography and a revitalized return to an age-old theme- the excitement of exploration.  

Bryan's lively and intimate text derives from in-depth interviews with key personnel-writers, photographers, editors- and contact with many of the scientists and explorers whose work was sponsored by the Society. He had free access to the Society's remarkable archives, which go back to Robert E. Peary's efforts to reach the North Pole; Hiram Bingham's startling discovery of Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas; Reinhold Messsner's superhuman solo climb to the summit of Mt. Everest; and countless other records of achievement.  

Coupled with the new chapters, as in the rest of this rich historical volume, are color photographs that add another dimension to the story, for the Geographic is a picture magazine and has long been valued for showing the world the way things look in far-off places. Borrowed from the Magazine's recent pages are photographs from stories such as the one parodying.