Founded more than 112 years ago "for the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge," the National Geographic Society has chronicled the exploits of some of the most famous explorers of the 20th century, and often helped fund those efforts. Roald Amundsen and Robert Byrd. Hiram Bingham and Howard Carter. Charles Lindbergh and Alan Shepard. Jacques Cousteau. Edmund Hillary. Will Steger. Bob Ballard. John Glenn. In addition, the Society has reported on a different sort of explorer: anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey, for example, primatologists Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall, and archaeologists such as Matthew Stirling and Kent Weeks. National Geographic Expeditions Atlas, illustrated with hundreds of historic and contemporary photographs and more than 60 maps (both vintage and new), celebrates the achievements of Society luminaries. Some, like mountaineer Barry Bishop and diver Luis Marden, have been staff members. Many have contributed to the Society's official journal, National Geographic magazine: Amazonian explorer Loren McIntyre, for example; divers Sylvia Earle and David Doubilet; adventurer-scientists Joseph Rock and Roy Chapman Andrews; cartographer Bradford Washburn; mariners Amos Burg and Robin Lee Graham. Also part of Geographic's family: winners of the Hubbard and Grosvenor Medals, and recipients of the nearly 7,000 grants awarded by the Society over the past century to support scientific and geographic explorations. National Geographic Expeditions Atlas is dedicated not only to all Geographic explorers past and present, but also to the enduring spirit that makes such expeditions possible: an insatiable thirst for knowledge about our planet and everything in it. No matter where you go, someone had to be there first. The National Geographic Expeditions Atlas looks at more than 100 years of National Geographic Society-funded or -chronicled explorations to the poles, undersea, skyward, and into our past. Though it contains plenty of maps from many eras covering small and large scales, the book is more a beautifully illustrated travelogue of adventure than an atlas proper; few will complain, however. The photography is transcendent, skimming the very best of National Geographic's deservedly respected work to reveal the depths of ice caves, the heights of Everest, never-before-recorded ruins, and hundreds of exhausted explorers. Even the most thoroughgoing stay-at-homes will find themselves pining for the fjords as they read the exploits of the daredevils and scientists who roam the frontiers or create new ones. The writing is subdued, but it pays careful attention to details, humanizing the men and women involved and bringing their day-to-day struggles to vibrant life. Jacques Cousteau, Theodore Roosevelt, Louis and Mary Leakey, Amelia Earhart, Jane Goodall, and John Glenn are some of the famous names on the roster of National Geographic explorers--and the introductory timeline highlights an encouraging trend toward more and more adventurers and expeditions as the years advance. The more you read, the more tempted you'll be to join them yourself. --Rob Lightner Written by current and former National Geographic staff members and organized into seven topical sections, this book takes you to the ends of the earth, into thin air, beyond the horizon, under the oceans, and searching for the past. It includes time lines, more than 220 vibrant photographs and illustrations, 60 maps recounting National Geographic's 112-year history of exploration, and first-hand accounts that introduce the reader to some of the bravest adventurers of our time, such as Jacques Cousteau, Richard Byrd, Amelia Earhart, Jane Goodall, and many more. A keepsake in the fashion of The National Geographic Society: 100 Years of Adventure and Discovery, this volume complements The Oxford Atlas of Exploration (LJ 1/98), a more traditional atlas going back to ancient times. A timely book for reflection while we enter the new millennium and a great way to teach adventurers of all ages about the past, this book is recommended for all libraries.DKimberly Bateman, Broward Cty. Libs., Deerfield Beach, FL Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. The yellow-bordered monthly frequently reprises its best-known articles for its loyal subscribers to savor, and this glossy slab of tabletop recycling features explorations that the National Geographic Society directly sponsored, from 1910, when the society made its name underwriting expeditions to Alaska, to the late 1990s. Although it contains some maps, it is not exactly an "atlas"; rather, the dramatic photograph dominates from cover to cover. The editors organize their greatest hits by topic: mountaineering (inevitably starring Mount Everest), aviation, polar exploration and adventures, assorted archaeological sites discovered in the twentieth century (especially pre-Columbian ones, such as Machu Picchu), underwater archaeology, and paleoanthropology (which National Geo popularized an