Split into geographical sections Middle East, South, Southeast, North and East Asia, as well as Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the Pacific and South Pacific Islands, our trans-continental journey through time and space spans across evocative black-and-white pictures to autochromes, from the golden age of Kodachromes to digital. Along the way, we tread the mile-long rock cleft leading up to the singular approach of the lost city of Petra; take in the majesty of the Taj Mahal; get uncomfortably close and personal with Kamchatka brown bears; discover Japan’s ‘naked festival’ where men heedlessly plunge into darkness wearing next to nothing; and come nose to nose with gray reef sharks in the waters of the Marshall Islands. Photographers featured include Steve McCurry, David Doubilet, Jodi Cobb, and Frans Lanting.

Readers will discover how National Geographic evolved from presenting a romantic view of the continent for its armchair travellers, long before the Travel Channel and Google Images, to edgier stories reflecting overcrowded cities, rural hardships, and environmental threats. Complete with prime examples of the magazine’s revered and groundbreaking underwater and wildlife photography, this book is both a window to the world and a cultural investment to be cherished and shared.