Logo
Prev
Bookmark
Rotate
Print
Next
Contents
All Pages
Related Articles
Browse Issues
Help
Search
Home
'
National Geographic : 1977 Dec
Contents
IN THIS LAST ISSUE of 1977 we open one of the earliest chapters in the American family album, reliving that. turbulent time when European powers were contend ing for the great prize of the New World. It is a fitting close for a year in which peo ple seemed more intent than ever before on finding a secure identity. It was no surprise that one of the most popular articles in 1977 was the story of a young man's trek across part of the United States in search of "the certainty he once knew." In the end, he found a reaffirmation of old values. Nor was it a surprise that our members responded with such enthusiasm to our pre sentation on the Wild and Scenic Rivers Sys tem-part of a continuing inventory of America's natural heritage that commenced with the wilderness regions and will continue in 1978 with the wildlife refuges, and later the national parks. From colonial times an abiding fascination with wilderness, and with the vast and varied landscapes of our con tinent, has been an integral part of the American national character. The rediscovery of beginnings involves facing unpleasant truths about the past, as well as achievements. This year we recounted the tragic epic of Chief Joseph and his Nez Perces. In our own time his winged words seem to bespeak the conscience of all men. Again, this story was high in reader esteem. Articles that bring alive the ancient past those on the Celts and on the dazzling trea sures of the Egypt of the pharaohs-elicited a widely favorable response. Part of their appeal, I feel, is surely due to the sense of con tinuity that they impart, the realization that our cultural and intellectual endowment runs deeply through the past. The editors, writers, and photographers who produce your magazine have always thought of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC as being a mirror of its times, reflecting the changes through which we pass. That we appear to be in step with change is evidenced in the grat ifying membership total, now almost at 10,000,000, and by the record number of new members who joined us this year. Now in its ninetieth year of publication, perhaps the GEOGRAPHIC itself represents a small part of the continuity we all seek from the past. Surely that is a goal we strive to achieve. /'//-^ ^ y THE NATIONALGEOGRAPHICMAGAZINE,VOL. 152, NO. 6 COPYRIGHT© 1977 BY NATIONALGEOGRAPHICSOCIETY WASHINGTON,D. C. INTERNATIONALCOPYRIGHTSECURED December 1977 Reach for the New World 724 Giving up their centuries-old cargoes at last, drowned ships yield fresh insights into the settling of the Americas. Historian Mendel Peterson tells the story, with photographs by David L. Arnold and paintings by Richard Schlecht. "History Salvaged From the Sea" A double-sided supplement to this issue traces Spain's incredible conquest of two virgin continents, and the sometimes successful attempts of her enemies-chiefly England, the Netherlands, and France-to take them away from her. The Voyage of "Brendan" 769 Timothy Severin and a daring crew add a new dimension to an old controversy: Could Irish monks in a leather boat have reached North America nine centuries before Columbus's world-changing voyages? The Year the Weather Went Wild 799 Braving blizzard and heat wave, drought and downpour, Thomas Y. Canby and a team of photographersexamine the causes and consequences of 1976-77's record breaking tantrums. Japan's Amazing Inland Sea 830 Sleepy villages and a vast nationalpark somehow coexist alongside southernJapan's throbbingfactories and busy shipyards. By William S. Ellis and James L. Stanfield. Australia's Feathered Playboy 865 What bird steals blue clothespins, builds an ingenious hideaway with painted walls to attract as many as half a dozen mates, and then shrugs off all the responsibilities of parenthood?Picture story by Philip Green. COVER: Undauntedby the North Atlantic's ice, fog, and gales, "Brendan" nears the coast of Newfoundland (pages 769-797). Photographby Nathan Benn. 723
Links
Archive
1978 Jan
1977 Nov
Navigation
Previous Page
Next Page