EXPLORERS HOUSE: National Geographic and the World It Made

Alexander Graham Bell didn't just invent the phone: he cofounded one of the world's great magazines. Bell and Gardiner Hubbard, a blue-blood Bostonian, launched the National Geographic Society in 1888. That fall, its journal first appeared, shedding light on subjects like volcanism and botany and establishing itself as an authority in scientific and technical arcana. The organization grew, but the magazine stalled until Gilbert H. Grosvenor, a young schoolteacher, signed on as editor, and the stories of the Grosvenor family and the magazine have been linked ever since. The organization and magazine grew steadily over the years, with more people, places and things for its members to discover. However, the magazine's growth often overshadowed subagendas of racism, sexism and conservatism within its offices, according to Poole. The 1950s and '60s brought rapid changes, as previously glossed-over subjects—domestic poverty, life under communism, apartheid—finally appeared in full color. Poole, recently retired as National Geographic 's executive editor, maintains objectivity without sacrificing scope and detail; the book has been built with all the painstaking care you'd expect from a National Geographic article (and thus, it's also a bit abstruse). Recent magazine troubles, chronicled in the last chapter, may not interest everyone, but then, back in 1888, who besides Alexander Graham Bell knew a beetle's wing structure would be so fascinating? Photos. Agent, Melanie Jackson. (On sale Oct. 25)