Featuring showstopping photographs, behind-the-scenes tales, and rarely seen artifacts, this newly revised and updated retrospective captures the history of National Geographic from its earliest days as a scientific club to a global storytelling institution.

Exploration. Science. Discovery. The National Geographic Society has shared all of this and more for the last century and a half—and yet the celebrated yellow border of its magazines, television channel, books and social media still means what it did in 1888: a celebration of the “world and all that is in it.”  

The National Geographic Story is the epic tale of a fledgling academic club that became the world's preeminent scientific and educational institution. In these pages, more than 500 vivid photographs portray the people who pushed the frontiers of adventure to create the organization of today. 

From a mountain lion framed against the iconic Hollywood sign to an innovative exploration of slave shipwrecks around the world, the story of National Geographic continues to unfold with achievements on the cutting edge of space exploration, wildlife studies, mountaineering, photography, and archaeology. This lavish book celebrates that enduring spirit, and reveals just how much we've learned about our wild and wonderful world.