At the threshold of a new millennium, we look back on an extraordinary century, the most momentous and eventful in the history of humankind. In a hundred years that encompass both astonishing achievements and unparalleled horrors, the world has seen the greatest scientific triumphs ever imagined and the two most destructive wars ever fought. At the dawn of the 20th century, powered flight was a visionary dream. A mere seven decades later, American astronauts stood on the moon and gazed back at Earth. As old empires, fell, new superpowers arose to take their place. As new discoveries vastly increased our store of knowledge, new technologies shrank the globe and accelerated the pace of life. And as era succeeded era. National Geographic was there to chronicle our ever changing world. Highlighted by 600 dramatic photographs and illustrations, this lavish and fascinating volume captures all the amazing variety of the 20th-century experience. Decade by decade, it presents the main themes and monumental events that transformed whole civilizations as well as the colorful details that shaped our daily lives. Here are authoritative essays on historical and cultural trends that reflect the moods and concerns of each decade, from America's arrival on the world stage at the start of the century to the increasing globalization that marks its end. Here too are year-by-year sidebars on important developments and personages, a yearly time line of modern milestones, and features on the subjects of special interest to generations of National Geographic readers. Along with these serious and informative sections, there's a treasury of delightful trivia and lighthearted lists of the people, the songs, the movies, and the accomplishments that gave each decade its unique flavor, from the first Teddy bear to the last episode of Seinfeld, from Kitty Hawk to Cape Kennedy, from Marconi to Microsoft and beyond. This wonderful, wide-ranging portrait is colorful, comprehensive, compelling, entertaining, and utterly engrossing -- in short, a perfect mirror of the varied, vivid, vital century that it celebrates. Read Less