Astonishing photographs. The text is also worth reading, as it puts the photographs - and the politics of photography - into context. One gripe - i wish the titles were on the page with the photograph, as I dislike having to flip back and forth between pages.

One of the reasons why I bought my Canon.

Though it is true that much of the National Geographic photography of its day was rooted in a search for a certain exoticness / otherness. I think this collection really captured the diversity of human culture before globalization had subsumed everyone into a conformity of fashion, ritual and custom. The portraits here show people at work, at home, in celebration throughout the world over the 20th century. From tribal peoples to Depression era workers to Persian revolutionaries to Central European peasants to factory workers. The diversity of the world is captured wonderfully through these pages.

That isn’t to say there still isn’t huge diversity today. But as the cogs of globalization crunch forward, as the internet is beamed into everyones pockets: we’re losing that cultural diversity that geographic isolation used to bring. The world has become a global melting pot: American movies, French dining, Scandinavian design, Chinese goods all blend together in every city and town in the world. Where every road is mapped, every town has a blurb on Wikipedia. We currently live in our own unique time period of unparalleled global cultural integration that is interesting in of itself. But there’s something lost that we may never get back.

The tiny town customs, the strange (to us) coming of age celebrations, the unique styles of dress. The adventure of setting out and meeting people who have never met or seen someone like you.

This is the period captured by National Geographic over its 100+ years. For this peek into a vanishing world, it is a wonderful collection. It is truly a shame to see the magazine no longer being published in print, and many of its staff writers being laid off. We’re poorer for it.

Awesome. A real, enduring pleasure.

A great compilation of exotic pictures of people from around the world.

Oh my goodness, there are some really incredible photos here, from the early 1900s on. I would dance a jig if I had taken any one of them. Fab.

A grand collection of fascinating photographs from around the globe. Text is limited in order to allow each image, captured through a camera lens, to be interpreted by the viewer.

Love this photography book.

These photographs make me want to quit my job and become a full time photographer! They are all definitely inspirational, fascinating and at times, sad. If you loves photographs, this is a book you should add to your To Be Read pile.

Beautiful and interesting to learning about the history of NGEO portrait photography from possed to candid and the fact that magazine acutually increased in subscriptions during the depression.