Product DescriptionWritten by contributors to the National Geographic, this atlas describes the hardships and achievements of staff and affiliates of the Society over the last 100 years in a number of disciplines related to scientific expeditions worldwide.Amazon.com ReviewNo matter where you go, someone had to be there first. TheNational 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 LightnerFrom BooklistThe 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 and also the Leakey name with its articles). Indeed, fame came to many thanks to its auspices: here, one gets reacquainted with the smiling, weather-beaten visage of Jacques-Yves Cousteau and with the solitary Jane Goodall and her chimpanzees. This tome will satisfy the library browser's needs with the beauty and grandeur of its photographs.Gilbert TaylorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved