The most haunting eyes in history - now we know her name

I can't really say anything about National Geographic that hasn't already been said. It is a magazine I have been reading since I was about five, and I consider it one of, if not the, most important magazines there is. I'm sure we all know someone who has a collection that dates back for decades.

Many images that have become ingrained in national and international consciousness had their origins in the pages of National Geographic. The most famous photograph being of the refugee girl with the haunting eyes. I was only 10-years-old when I first saw her back in 1985, and I have seen her picture many times since, as it is reproduced in many National Geographic publications and annuals. I have always wondered what happened to her, and have always assumed the worst. A long life is far from a guarantee for a refugee.

September 11th happens, and suddenly a country I had never thought much about is being mentioned everywhere: Afghanistan. How could a country that meant so little to me on on September 10th suddenly be so central? It was quite a turnabout this month to realize that girl had been from Afghanistan, her beauty had ecclipse the recollection of her origin. The horror of the fighting in Afghanistan has always been with me, in the trauma of the eyes that stirred my soul seventeen years ago. The country that has come to symbolize so much pain was also the source of great beauty.

But that's what National Geographic does and has always done, educate its readers on topics of which they would otherwise be unaware, as well as add a much needed touch of humanity. That is why I love this magazine and plan to read it for years to come.

In Depth Factual Stories, Brilliant Photographs

I have read issues of National Geographic that date back to the last century. In those early times the articles were often more sterile and factual, but still just as interesting. In many cases those articles are more interesting today, because we see the world of then through the eyes of the relatively objective viewers of then.

Geography covers more than just land masses and forests. National Geographic is not about "national," it is about our entire universe; National Geographic refers to "The National Geographic Society," rather than the breadth of coverage. In the decades that I have been reading National Geographic, articles have covered everything from the Earth's core, to the deepest oceans, to the people living on the land and the land itself, the mountains and skies above us, and the whole universe. Warning: if you are a creationist then I would avoid this magazine.

The breadth of the magazine is well matched by its depth. Articles in the last decades have covered genes, atomic science, microbial life, how remote sensing technologies work, lasers, frequencies, such as those that make up color and the all the invisible spectra, and so many more that it is impossible to list them in a 1000 word review. Virtually every major issue possible to be covered that is related to geography has had at least one article in Geographic, and thousands of not-so-major issues. There was even an article on holography!

The core of the magazine is still geography as we grew up believing geography to be. There have been articles on Lake Baikal, a wonderful trek through the still wild and swampy jungles of Africa, excellent articles on caves and national parks of all nations, glorious color pictures of undersea life and animals of all shapes, sizes and description, and the ever popular insects and arachnids, to name but a fraction.

National Geographic has always been famous for the pictures. A recent addition to the magazine has been a brief article describing a picture that did not quite make the cut for a featured article. The brief summary explains why the editor, writer or photographer was enamored of a particular picture, and why the picture was not used in the article. This article provides a wonderful insight into the marriage of photography and prose for each article in every magazine; a primer for would-be editors.

While National Geographic does have an environmental lean in reporting, it is remarkably balanced. The needs of affected populations such as fisherman, farmers, and people in general are reported alongside commentary on how people have damaged an ecosystem or caused the extinction of another species. There always seems to be a note of glee when the needs of ecology and the needs of people are in balance or when people have benefited from improving or guarding an ecosystem.

There are few adult magazines that I feel are sufficiently balanced in their reporting that I am comfortable providing unlimited access to children. While there are occasional articles that are quite bloody, which is to be expected when dealing with humans and animals, the blood is real and not staged. While I would not expose a very young child to such imagery, older children need to learn of the realities of the world. I remember when I was first exposed to National Geographic 40 years ago I found some of the images disturbing, but those same images helped prepared me for some of the harsh realities of life outside my home, my city, my country and even my solar system and galaxy.

National Geographic has been an important magazine in my life for about 40 years. I was fortunate to go to a high school with magazines that dated back more than 70 years, and spent many free hours reading those old magazines, with all black and white photographs. What an incredible perspective this magazine gives us on the world and how we and our knowledge have changed in the course of the last 100 years. What a wonderful way to discover those changes. This excellent and educational magazine is for those interested in people, science, geography, the world, and the universe.

Keeps the earth spinning

We have been subscribing to National Geographic for over 25 years. No other magazine covers such a wide range of topics, with consistently excellent photographs and journalism.

It is a useful reference guide for school projects, especially with the map inserts.

Being chock full of information has the downside of being very heavy. If every household were to simultaneously incinerate all the issues in their possession, not only would the cloud of smoke obscure the sun and cause another ice age, but the earth would suddenly be so light that it might float off its axis.

The moral: Save the Planet - hang on to your National Geographics.