The World We Live In
Encyclopedia
The World We Live In appeared in the pages of LIFE magazine
from December 8, 1952, to December 20, 1954. A science series, it comprised 13 chapters published on an average of every eight months.
Written by Lincoln Barnett
, The World We Live In spanned a diverse range of topics concerning planet Earth and universe, and employed the talents of countless artists and photographers. These included, among others, cameramen Alfred Eisenstaedt
and Fritz Goro, and artists Rudolph Zallinger
and Chesley Bonestell
.
s which showed two sides of a scenario.
The original book version of The World We Live In was not entirely complete Some minor schematic diagrams were cut to better fit the format of the book. Furthermore, some of Chesley Bonestell's artworks, including the painting illustrating the end of the Earth, were removed, possibly because they were seen as dated by then. Jane Werner Watson's edition for younger readers, on the other hand, cropped many pictures or removed them altogether; for instance, the Paleocene landscape was removed, while the eroded geological panorama was relegated to the endpapers. This led to some odd situations, with some captions referring to animals that were cropped out of the picture.
There is also excessive personification and some bias, which is no longer favorable in objective, encyclopedic work. Large prehistoric mammals, for instance, are variously described as being "awkward" or "witless". Tyrannosaurus rex in Ch. V does not escape this treatment either.
Finally, apparently as part of Lifes effort to make science as palatable as possible to its wide audience, the text featured as many Biblical references as possible. One reader remarked that the "text was written as if the clergy were looking over Mr. Barnett's shoulder and crossing out anything that might be in conflict with the story of Adam and Eve".
Still, the purple prose does its job of conveying awe at the natural world. Paleontologist George Olshevsky
described Lincoln Barnett's text as having "the grandeur of the universe contained in every word".
instead of plate tectonics
to explain uplift
. The paleontological chapters (V and VI) are especially dated, considering the speed of new discoveries in the field and the Dinosaur Renaissance
.
In contrast, the sections on various biome
s such as the desert, rainforest, and woodland are still more or less accurate today, reflecting the relatively complete knowledge of them available at the time.
The World We Live In, with its several incarnations, successfully brought the intricacies of science to the baby boom generation. By the time the book version was being published, endorsements were printed by notable people, including paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, filmmaker Walt Disney, and Admiral Richard E. Byrd. The "Letters to the Editors" page frequently featured glowing reviews of the series, as well as letters from creationists that either embraced or rejected it.
After publishing chapter XII on Mettler's Woods, Life received mail from the Citizens' Committee for the Preservation of Mettler's Woods, which congratulated them for the article and encouraged readers to help save the forest from destruction. Eventually, a letter from the Committee was published announcing that they had "raised to funds to purchase and study these woods and adjoining woodlands", adding that Lifes article "not only stimulated several hundred persons to contribute to the fund to save one of the last primeval American forests, but encouraged the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America to contribute $75,000 in memory of W. L. Hutcheson". The forest was renamed the Hutcheson Memorial Forest
.
Paleontologist Bob Bakker mentions Zallinger's dinosaurs as the spark that ignited his passion for prehistory; ironically, Bakker himself would later argue against Zallinger's rendition. George Olshevsky also cites The World We Live In as introducing him to science, and adds that he suggested authoring an updated version; however, Lifes editors were not interested.
The World We Live In was followed by The Epic of Man, focusing on the development and history of human civilization, and The Wonders of Life on Earth, a series of articles tracing Darwin
and evolution. Both of these were written by Barnett as well, and featured many of the same artists. Lifes series on the International Geological Year was hailed as a spiritual "update" to The World We Live In.
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
from December 8, 1952, to December 20, 1954. A science series, it comprised 13 chapters published on an average of every eight months.
Written by Lincoln Barnett
Lincoln Barnett
Lincoln Kinnear Barnett was an editor and author, most notably at Life Magazine for many years.Lincoln Barnett wrote a number of books, including "The Universe and Doctor Einstein","The World We Live In",and "The Treasure of Our Tongue"....
, The World We Live In spanned a diverse range of topics concerning planet Earth and universe, and employed the talents of countless artists and photographers. These included, among others, cameramen Alfred Eisenstaedt
Alfred Eisenstaedt
Alfred Eisenstaedt was a German-American photographer and photojournalist. He is renowned for his candid photographs, frequently made using various models of a 35mm Leica rangefinder camera...
and Fritz Goro, and artists Rudolph Zallinger
Rudolph F. Zallinger
Rudolph Franz Zallinger was an American-based artist notable for his mural The Age of Reptiles at Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History and for the popular illustration known as March of Progress , one of the world's most recognizable scientific images.-Biography:Zallinger was born in Irkutsk,...
and Chesley Bonestell
Chesley Bonestell
Chesley Bonestell was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings were a major influence on science fiction art and illustration, and he helped inspire the American space program...
.
Issues
The World We Live In was introduced to Life's readership as "the greatest series of science stories we have ever produced". It promised a "unified, understandable picture story of the planet Earth" authored by Lincoln Barnett, "one of the most literate authors in the field of science". The series itself started two issues later. Each of the chapters sported art and photos, often presented in large gatefoldGatefold
A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...
s which showed two sides of a scenario.
- I. The Earth Is Born - published Dec. 8, 1952. Illustrated by Chesley BonestellChesley BonestellChesley Bonestell was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings were a major influence on science fiction art and illustration, and he helped inspire the American space program...
, the first installment of the series covered the formation of the Earth, its composition, and its eventual demise. Contemporary principles of geology were also introduced.
- II. The Miracle Of the Sea - published Feb. 9, 1953. The second part of the series discussed the geology and geography of the ocean, its , and its effect on coastlines. The first to include a gatefold, it featured a panoramic geological cross-section of the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines of North America.
- III. The Face Of the Land - published Apr. 15, 1953 Surface geology was the focus of the third chapter, which provided overviews of mountain formation and erosion. The geological formation of the New York area was included as a sample history. The gatefold showed forces of uplift in a bare landscape on one side, and the same landscape after the effects of erosion on the other side.
- IV. The Canopy Of Air - published Jun. 8, 1953. Chapter 4 was the only issue not to be featured on the cover of Life; instead, the cover story was on Roy CampanellaRoy CampanellaRoy Campanella , nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily at the position of catcher, in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball...
. The Canopy Of The Air featured clouds, air currents, chemical cycles, and other atmospheric phenomena.
- V. The Pageant Of Life - published Sept. 7, 1953After a discussion of evolution, the history of life on Earth is recounted, starting with single-celled organisms and ending with the demise of the dinosaurs. For the gatefold, Rudolph Zallinger's Age of Reptiles mural was used; however, the version in The World We Live In was Zallinger's preliminary, detailed study. The actual mural in the Peabody MuseumPeabody MuseumThe Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University is among the oldest, largest, and most prolific university natural history museums in the world. It was founded by the philanthropist George Peabody in 1866 at the behest of his nephew Othniel Charles Marsh, the early paleontologist...
is significantly different.
- VI. The Age Of Mammals - published Oct 19, 1953Zallinger was commissioned to produce another panoramic mural, this time showcasing the evolution of mammals in North America across the Cenozoic, from small Paleocene animals to the woolly mammothWoolly mammothThe woolly mammoth , also called the tundra mammoth, is a species of mammoth. This animal is known from bones and frozen carcasses from northern North America and northern Eurasia with the best preserved carcasses in Siberia...
and MegatheriumMegatheriumMegatherium was a genus of elephant-sized ground sloths endemic to Central America and South America that lived from the Pliocene through Pleistocene existing approximately...
. The mural was eventually revised dramatically for the Peabody Museum, with several animals (such as the mammoth) revamped completely.
- VII. Creatures Of the Sea - published Nov 30, 1953 After the physical properties of the ocean in part II, part VII introduced the organisms living in it. The gatefold showed the diversity of marine life on one side, and benthic organisms on the other.
- VIII. The Coral Reef - published Feb 8, 1954. Types of coral reef, different species of coral, and the colorful denizens of the Great Barrier reef were present in this chapter.
- IX. The Land Of The Sun - published Apr 5, 1954Focusing on the Sonoran DesertSonoran DesertThe Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
, part IX explained the vicissitudes of life in the desert and the adaptations of desert animals. The gatefold, painted by James Perry Wilson of the American Museum of Natural HistoryAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryThe American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, showed the same desert scene by day and by night. A perfectionist, Wilson worked slowly and included as much detail as possible in the panoramas. He was unable to finish by the deadline, and some animals were painted by Robert Gartland. Both paintings were presented to the Peabody Museum in 1976 by Wilson's nephews.
- X. The Arctic Barrens - published Jun 7, 1954. Life on the cold tundra was described in this installment, with a gatefold showing the seasonal transitions of the tundra. Life photographer Fritz Goro and reporter Jim Goode camped on the tundra for some seven weeks to obtain all the photos they needed, and by the end were reduced to living on macaroni.
- XI. The Rain Forest - published Sep 20, 1954The lush Amazon rainforestAmazon RainforestThe Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
of Dutch Guiana was covered in part XI, with photos and several double-page spreads and a gatefold painted by Zallinger illustrating life in the forest. Zallinger, photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, and reporter David Bergamini spent two months in Surinam gathering data.
- XII. The Woods Of Home - published Nov 8, 1954Terrain more familiar to Lifes readers was discussed here, as the effects of the seasons are observed in the changing woods. Artwork by Walter LinsenmaierWalter LinsenmaierWalter Linsenmaier was a Swiss painter.-References:*This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia....
depicted animals of forest and pond, as well as insects of the ground and the trees. The photographs were taken in Mettler's Woods, now the Hutcheson Memorial ForestHutcheson Memorial ForestThe William L. Hutcheson Memorial Forest is a natural preserve at 2150 Amwell Rd. about 3/4 of a mile east of East Millstone in Franklin Township, Somerset County, NJ. It is known for its untouched stand of old growth forest...
.
- XIII. The Starry Universe - published Dec 20, 1954Part XIII closed the series on a suitably grand scale, with Bonestell's art depicting the stars and planets. The gatefold showed a scale depiction of the solar system on one side, and the Local GroupLocal GroupThe Local Group is the group of galaxies that includes Earth's galaxy, the Milky Way. The group comprises more than 30 galaxies , with its gravitational center located somewhere between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy...
on the other.
Reprints
After its successful run at LIFE magazine, The World we Live in was released in book form in 1955, abridged in 1956 for younger readers by Jane Werner Watson, and re-released in a three-volume "Family Edition" in 1962.The original book version of The World We Live In was not entirely complete Some minor schematic diagrams were cut to better fit the format of the book. Furthermore, some of Chesley Bonestell's artworks, including the painting illustrating the end of the Earth, were removed, possibly because they were seen as dated by then. Jane Werner Watson's edition for younger readers, on the other hand, cropped many pictures or removed them altogether; for instance, the Paleocene landscape was removed, while the eroded geological panorama was relegated to the endpapers. This led to some odd situations, with some captions referring to animals that were cropped out of the picture.
Style
Lincoln Barnett's text can be criticized of being florid, sometimes to a ludicrous degree. As one reader put it, "[I] Enjoyed "Creatures of the Sea" most of all because of the way Lincoln Barnett slings the King's English around. While Nobel Prizer Sir Winston Churchill had an easier subject, he can't hold a candle to this guy Barnett". The rationale for mammalian dominance of the Earth from Ch. VI is only one example.Indeed, it is probable that the mammals may have survived and succeeded to hegemony of the earth not in spite of but by reason of their very weakness and obscurity, their smallness in a world dominated by giants, their nakedness in a world of armor plate -- in particular, by their fear and sensitivity and awareness in a world of unperceiving, insensate, brainless brutes.
There is also excessive personification and some bias, which is no longer favorable in objective, encyclopedic work. Large prehistoric mammals, for instance, are variously described as being "awkward" or "witless". Tyrannosaurus rex in Ch. V does not escape this treatment either.
The apogee of development was attained with the creation of Tyrannosaurus rexTyrannosaurusTyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
, the mightiest and most fearsome flesh-eater that ever terrorized the land. A towering agent of destruction, endowed with gigantic strength and power, Tyrannosaurus spanned 50 feet from nose to tail and carried his terrible head 18 to 20 feet above the ground. His hind legs were superbly muscled, from his thick thighs down to his three-toed, cruelly taloned feet. His main weapon of attack was his murderous mouth which had a gape of incredible size and was armed with rows of six-inch saberlike teeth.
Finally, apparently as part of Lifes effort to make science as palatable as possible to its wide audience, the text featured as many Biblical references as possible. One reader remarked that the "text was written as if the clergy were looking over Mr. Barnett's shoulder and crossing out anything that might be in conflict with the story of Adam and Eve".
Still, the purple prose does its job of conveying awe at the natural world. Paleontologist George Olshevsky
George Olshevsky
George Olshevsky is a freelance editor, writer, publisher, amateur paleontologist, and mathematician living in San Diego, California.Olshevsky maintains the comprehensive online Dinosaur Genera List...
described Lincoln Barnett's text as having "the grandeur of the universe contained in every word".
Factual accuracy
By modern standards, The World we Live In is highly inaccurate, but mainly due to the constant progress of science since that time. At the time, it was up-to-date with contemporary theories on the natural world, but major scientific breakthroughs in astronomy, geology, and biology severely date the series. For instance, the sections on geology assume geophysical global coolingGeophysical global cooling
Before the concept of plate tectonics, global cooling was a reference to a geophysical theory by James Dwight Dana, also referred to as the contracting earth theory. It suggested that the Earth had been in a molten state, and features such as mountains formed as it cooled and shrank. As the...
instead of plate tectonics
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere...
to explain uplift
Tectonic uplift
Tectonic uplift is a geological process most often caused by plate tectonics which increases elevation. The opposite of uplift is subsidence, which results in a decrease in elevation. Uplift may be orogenic or isostatic.-Orogenic uplift:...
. The paleontological chapters (V and VI) are especially dated, considering the speed of new discoveries in the field and the Dinosaur Renaissance
Dinosaur renaissance
The dinosaur renaissance was a small-scale scientific revolution that started in the late 1960s, and led to renewed academic and popular interest in dinosaurs...
.
In contrast, the sections on various biome
Biome
Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...
s such as the desert, rainforest, and woodland are still more or less accurate today, reflecting the relatively complete knowledge of them available at the time.
Reception and legacy
"The World We Live In ought to be in book form. It is extraordinarily well done, comprehensive and at the same time comprehendible - a great thing". Roy Chapman AndrewsRoy Chapman AndrewsRoy Chapman Andrews was an American explorer, adventurer and naturalist who became the director of the American Museum of Natural History. He is primarily known for leading a series of expeditions through the fragmented China of the early 20th century into the Gobi Desert and Mongolia...
"To own The World We Live In in book form is a not-to-be-missed opportunity for any family - old or young, it's a wonderful and exciting adventure in learning". Walt DisneyWalt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
The World We Live In, with its several incarnations, successfully brought the intricacies of science to the baby boom generation. By the time the book version was being published, endorsements were printed by notable people, including paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, filmmaker Walt Disney, and Admiral Richard E. Byrd. The "Letters to the Editors" page frequently featured glowing reviews of the series, as well as letters from creationists that either embraced or rejected it.
After publishing chapter XII on Mettler's Woods, Life received mail from the Citizens' Committee for the Preservation of Mettler's Woods, which congratulated them for the article and encouraged readers to help save the forest from destruction. Eventually, a letter from the Committee was published announcing that they had "raised to funds to purchase and study these woods and adjoining woodlands", adding that Lifes article "not only stimulated several hundred persons to contribute to the fund to save one of the last primeval American forests, but encouraged the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America to contribute $75,000 in memory of W. L. Hutcheson". The forest was renamed the Hutcheson Memorial Forest
Hutcheson Memorial Forest
The William L. Hutcheson Memorial Forest is a natural preserve at 2150 Amwell Rd. about 3/4 of a mile east of East Millstone in Franklin Township, Somerset County, NJ. It is known for its untouched stand of old growth forest...
.
Paleontologist Bob Bakker mentions Zallinger's dinosaurs as the spark that ignited his passion for prehistory; ironically, Bakker himself would later argue against Zallinger's rendition. George Olshevsky also cites The World We Live In as introducing him to science, and adds that he suggested authoring an updated version; however, Lifes editors were not interested.
The World We Live In was followed by The Epic of Man, focusing on the development and history of human civilization, and The Wonders of Life on Earth, a series of articles tracing Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
and evolution. Both of these were written by Barnett as well, and featured many of the same artists. Lifes series on the International Geological Year was hailed as a spiritual "update" to The World We Live In.