The National Geographic Volume 81, January-June, 1942

National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C., 1942. This is a hard-bound copy of the first 6 months of the National Geographic published in 1942. The volume is bound in very handsome embossed leather-like material with an intricate cover design of leaves, a world globe and a Spirit-of-St. Louis type monoplane on the front. [10" X 7"] The gilding on the front cover has faded a bit, but that on the spine is better. When these six issues were published, war had just begun for the U.S. The Geographic seems to have taken a strange approach to the world situation. There are stories that are tangential to the war, but mostly, they seem to ignore it or gloss over it. Quite possibly, the stories had been "in the pipline" for some time, and the Geographic could not suddenly change its content. In this volume: "Ambassadors of Good will [Birds]" "Americana"[11 illustrations from7th annual Newspaper National Snapshot Contest]; "Americans in the Caribbean;" "Anticosti Island, Nugget of the North;" "As 2000 Ships are Born" [about the ramped-up industrial effort in response to WWII]; "California Says it With Wildflowers;" "Culture Still Lights Our Wartime Capital;" "Facing War's Challenge 'Down Under'"; "Facts About The Philippines;" "Family Afoot in Yukon Wilds;" "Flavor and Savor of American Foods;" "French West Africa in Wartime;" "Gardens and Shrines of Old Virginia;" "HIDDEN KEY TO THE PACIFIC: PIERCING THE WEB OF SECRECY WHICH HAS LONG VEILED JAPANESE BASES IN THE MANDATED ISLANDS;" "Honduran Highlights;" "Java Assignment;" "Life With an Indian Prince;" "Madagascar: Mystery Island;" "MAKING OF AN ANZAC;" "Maps for Victory" [How National Geographic Maps were being used in the war effort]; "Mediterranean Checkerboard;" "Metal Sinews of Strength;" "Parade of Life Through the Ages" [Fossils]; "Revolution in Eating: Machine Food Age - Born of Roads, Research, and Refrigeration;" "San Diego Can't Believe it" [The war's effect on a California City]; "Santa Catalina - 400 Years a Lure to California Travelers;" "Storied Islands of the South Sea;" "Sun Shines on San Diege;" "Taming 'Flood Dragons' Along China's Hwang Ho River;" "Tidewater Virginia, Where History Lives;" "Treasure Islands of Australasia: New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Fiji.;" "War Echoes in the West Indies;" "War Meets Peace in Egypt;" "Washington - Storehouse of Knowledge;" "Westward Bound in the YANKEE." 830pp. Volume contents and index.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket.