Who doesn't know National Geographic? Despite the term 'national' in the
title, this is a publication that has an international reputation, and
has set its sights on exploring every inch of the globe, and beyond.
School children everywhere use National Geographic as a resource. It is a
periodical, however, that goes far beyond the school library.
Interesting, erudite, broad-ranging and fascinating (in addition to
being, dare I say it, educational), National Geographic has something
for everyone.
Articles involve history, culture, sociology, biology,
architecture, archaeology, and physical science in addition to the
trademark item, geography. Recent issues have included articles on
archaeology of the Indus Valley, earthquakes in Turkey, Samoan culture,
jellyfish, and dinosaurs. National Geographic has a knack for combining
the timely with the timeless to make each issue interesting from a
current events perspective (recent articles on the Golan Heights and
touring London show this) as well as being worthy of retaining for
future reference by combining history and other details.
Coupled
with the articles, National Geographic has fantastic photography. In the
June issue, there is a 'family photo' that was taken at the annual
photographic seminar in Washington, D.C., in which more than half of the
regular contributors to the magazine were present and photographed
around the great seal of National Geographic. According the caption:
'The
47 men and women shown have collectively logged some 700 years taking
pictures for this magazine alone. They've photographed roughly 715
articles, and at a current average of 29,000 frames shot per story, that
works out to about 20.7 million images.'
Authors and
photographers for National Geographic are perhaps one of the most
diverse lots of people working for any periodical. From urban to rural,
civilised to exotic to remote and desolate locations; from peaceful and
happy events to battlefield and disaster situations; from home life to
professional life to religious life and beyond, these women and men have
covered almost every aspect of the world (and beyond!). Photographic
and journalistic excellence is a hallmark of this magazine, and it shows
in every issue.
But the maps! What about the maps? Oh, yes, this
is perhaps the distinguishing feature of National Geographic, something
that is also well-known from school days. Teachers always loved to put
National Geographic maps up on the walls, and issues continue to include
the most up-to-date maps of countries, physical features, even the
moon, planets, and star systems.
The National Geographic Society
was founded in 1888 as a nonprofit scientific and educational
organization, and has in that time supported more than 6500 explorations
and research projects. They have also included in more recent times to
support students with scholarships. For instance, since 1993 they have
given a scholarship each year to a British student in conjunction with
the British Cartographic Society, in recognition of the outstanding
map making student in the UK. This will help continue the tradition on
National Geographic.
