National Geographic The Covers

National Geographic The Covers is the definitive cover collection from the world’s most beloved magazine. The magazine with the famous yellow border has been in publication for more than 125 years, and its vast array of cover stories have opened our eyes to a richly diverse world and taken us to places we only dream of visiting: deep within the rain forest, miles below the surface of the ocean, and into the farthest reaches of the universe. Captured by some of history’s most gifted and innovative photographers, these covers tell a fascinating story of the last 125 years, one in which air power has advanced from the Wright Brothers to the Space Age; undersea exploration has evolved from awkward submersibles to sleek subs that can penetrate the ocean’s deepest trench, and the natural world has transformed from a vast territory of exploitable resources into one in need of our protection. The Covers also reveals the captivating stories behind unforgettable images; from the piercing green eyes of the Afghan girl to the haunted, hunted gorillas of the Congo’s Virunga Crater. Decade by decade, the covers chart our evolving understanding of global culture and the unfolding of international political events as they record groundbreaking discoveries and the enduring beauty of our natural world.

Mark Collins Jenkins is the former chief historian of the National Geographic Society’s archives, and has, in all likelihood, read every article ever published by National Geographic magazine. He is the author of Worlds to Explore: Classic Tales of Travel and Adventure from National Geographic, The Book of Marvels: The Explorer’s Miscellany, and Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend.

Chris Johns, former editor in chief of National Geographic magazine, was named Newspaper Photographer of the Year in 1979 while a staff photographer for TheTopeka Capital-Journal. Before joining National Geographic in 1995 and becoming senior editor of illustrations in 2001, he worked as a freelance photographer for Life, Time, and National Geographic. The author of Valley of Life: Africa’s Great Rift, he lives with his family on a farm in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.