When National Geographic first appeared in 1888, no-one could have guessed it would become the worldwide success it has. That first issue was sent out to just 165 subscribers. Today, it's an astonishing 11 million people in over than 170 countries This series celebrates Gilbert Grosvenor's first twenty-five years as editor and his maxim The mind must see before it can believe. From the earliest days, he filled the magazine with photographs that were a source of awe and wonder to his readers and, for virtually all of them, the first time they had ever seen such images. Taking original reporting and photos as they appeared in numerous issues - and building them into a chronological single volume - the books presented here cover: discoveries of the lost worlds of the Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas; the building and opening of the Panama Canal; the search for the origins of Judaism and Christianity; the mysteries of the Sahara; the rush for the North Pole and the race for the South Pole; the Russian people before the revolution A Western-eye view of China in the early part of the 20th century