A colorful history of the National Geographic Society traces its evolution from its 1888 beginnings to its evolution into the esteemed and iconic American institution of the present day, profiling the Grosvenor family dynasty that created the institution's photography-based monthly and examining the inner workings of the magazine's innovative articles and the explorations they have covered. 30,000 first printing. Adult/High School–In 1888, Gardiner Greene Hubbard and selected associates decided to start a group that would meet regularly to share views and then share that knowledge. Thus the National Geographic Society came into being. In 1898, upon Hubbard's death and at the insistence of his widow and of his daughter, Mabel Hubbard Bell, Alexander Graham Bell took over the organization. He picked Gilbert H. Grosvenor to follow him. The Grosvenor family became the lineage that would control the organization to the present day. Poole's book is the combined story of the evolution of the NGS, its publications and forays into various other media, and the struggle to keep the organization viable and on the cutting edge of important information for readers everywhere. Much of the volume necessarily deals with the complicated lives of the Grosvenors. Poole offers insight on selected NGS-sponsored explorations, especially Robert Peary's, and the politics that surrounded them. Small black-and-white photos, mainly of people, serve as markers to the chapters. Poole's uncomplicated writing offers a clear history, and his book leaves readers with an appreciative understanding of the often-overlooked marvel of how the society came to be and what it continues to offer. –Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Ruled until recently by the nepotistic Grosvenor dynasty, National Geographic magazine here has its history narrated by a former editor. Poole is not, however, blinkered by his association with the publication and writes candidly about bigoted editors, vapid articles, and dumb business decisions. Combined with his insight into what has editorially made the yellow-bordered icon one of the most successful in the magazine industry, that frankness ensures the work is not just a dreary institutional history. National Geographic is tantamount to a public trust, and its millions of readers will be curious about how it ascended to that status. Poole credits the climb to the son-in-law and protege of Alexander Graham Bell, Gilbert Grosvenor, who established the magazine's editorial formula in the early 1900s and, as importantly, its financial foundation as part of the tax-exempt National Geographic Society. Poole notes how Grosvenor's racist sentiments affected the organization, then phases into the tutelages of son Melville and grandson Gilbert. Fans of the magazine will appreciate Poole's revealing examination of its evolution. Gilbert Taylor Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved ...Robert M. Poole proves himself an ideal guide: sure-footed, supremely knowledgeable, and eager to share all he knows. -- Geoffrey C. Ward ...a wonderfully subtle and exhaustive...portrait of an age and of an institution that is at times more Byzantine than American. -- Paul Theroux Fans of the magazine will appreciate Poole's revealing examination of National Geographic 's evolution. -- Booklist , October 1, 2004 Poole...shows how five generations of a public-spirited family...converted a boring academic journal into an internationally loved magazine... -- The Economist , October 16, 2004 Robert M. Poole retired as Executive Editor of National Geographic in 2001 after a twenty-one-year career as a writer and editor there. In addition to his work for National Geographic, Poole has contributed articles to The New York Times , The Washington Post , Congressional Quarterly , Preservation , and Fly Fisherman . Before joining the National Geographic staff in 1980, he was a newspaper correspondent specializing in national politics and the environment. He is a former fellow at the Washington Journalism Center.