In 1887 in Washington, DC, 33 gentlemen met to consider "the advisability of organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge". From that meeting grew "The National Geographic Society", an institution that is recognized by almost every American. In this volume, celebrating the centennial of this amazing Society, award-winning author C.D.B. Bryan covers the entire history of the Geographic, focusing on the personalities behind it - from Gardiner Greene Hubbard and Alexander Graham Bell, to three generations of the Grosvenor family, to flamboyant explorers and innovative photographers and writers. The historical narrative, giving the reader a sense of the past 100 years, alternates with theme sections of pictorial material - polar exploration, natural disasters, glorious expeditions, archaeology and conservation, among others.