The World We Live In (Life magazine)

"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 parts published on an average of every eight weeks. 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 artists and photographers, including cameramen Alfred Eisenstaedt and Fritz Goro and artists Rudolph Zallinger and Chesley Bonestell. The parts were illustrated with art and photos, often presented in large gatefolds.

Magazine articles

"The World We Live In" was introduced to LIFEs readership as "the greatest series of science stories we have ever produced"."Announcing The Greatest Life Science Series The World We Live In". (Nov 24, 1952) Life, Vol. 33, No. 21, p. 129 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 part was assigned to a reporter, who was granted eight months to research the subject, organize the data, and oversee the photography and artwork. This opportunity to travel, learn, and explore on company expense was known informally as a "Luce fellowship". I. The Earth Is Born - published Dec. 8, 1952.Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part I The Earth Is Born" (Dec. 8, 1952) Life, Vol. 33, No. 23. NOTE: Article in the original issue is at pages 85-103; 19 total), only the last 15 (89 to 103) pages are available (first few pages [ie, 85-88], which may include some ads, seem to be missing) - however - an image of the first page (page 85) of Part I is at => https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2990/2012/products/fullsizeoutput_8950_600x.jpg Illustrated by Chesley Bonestell, 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. NOTE: Two-Page Letter: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.117.3045.509.a - and -https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.117.3045.510 II. The Miracle Of the Sea - published Feb. 9, 1953.Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part II The Miracle Of The Sea" (Feb. 9, 1953) Life, Vol. 34, No. 6 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. The part was given to science reporter Nancy Genet, who requested "a couple of hours" with oceanographer Maurice Ewing and ended up spending two weeks, a fact Ewing remembered years later. She also had the idea of representing the seafloor in panoramic view, and drafted the concept on a scotch-taped "giant toilet paper roll" of paper 85 feet long. The final artwork was done by James Lewicki. III. The Face Of the Land - published Apr. 15, 1953Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part III The Face Of The Land" (Apr. 15, 1953) Life, Vol. 34, No. 15 Surface geology was the focus of the third part, 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.Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part IV The Canopy Of Air" (Jun. 8, 1953) Life, Vol. 34, No. 23 Part 4 was the only issue not to be featured on the cover of LIFE; instead, the cover story was on Roy Campanella. The Canopy Of The Air featured clouds, air currents, chemical cycles, and other atmospheric phenomena. V. The Pageant Of Life - published Sept. 7, 1953Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part V The Pageant Of Life" (Sept. 7, 1953) Life, Vol. 35, No. 10 After 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 The 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 Museum is significantly different. VI. The Age Of Mammals - published Oct 19, 1953Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part VI Age Of Mammals" (Oct 19, 1953) Life, Vol. 35, No. 16 Zallinger 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 mammoth and Megatherium. 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, 1953Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part VII Creatures of the Sea" (Nov 30, 1953) Life, Vol. 35, No. 22 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.Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part VIII The Coral Reef" (Feb 8, 1954) Life, Vol. 36, No. 6 Types of coral reef, different species of coral, and the colorful denizens of the Great Barrier reef were present in this part. IX. The Land Of The Sun - published Apr 5, 1954Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part IX The Land Of The Sun" (Apr 5, 1954) Life, Vol. 36, No. 14 Focusing on the Sonoran Desert, 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 History, 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.Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part X The Arctic Barrens" (Jun 7, 1954) Life, Vol. 36, No. 23 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."Life Sent Expedition To Tundra" (Jun 7, 1954) Life, Vol. 36, No. 23, p. 116 XI. The Rain Forest - published Sep 20, 1954Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part XI The Rain Forest" (Sep 20, 1954) Life, Vol. 37, No. 12 The lush Amazon rainforest 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."In Next Week's Issue". (Sep 13, 1954) Life, Vol. 37, No. 11, p. 177 XII. The Woods Of Home - published Nov 8, 1954Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part XII The Woods Of Home" (Nov 8, 1954) Life, Vol. 37, No. 19 Terrain more familiar to LIFE's readers was discussed here, as the effects of the seasons are observed in the changing woods. Artwork by Walter Linsenmaier 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 Forest. XIII. The Starry Universe - published Dec 20, 1954Barnett, L. The World We Live In: Part XIII The Starry Universe (Dec 20, 1954) Life, Vol. 37, No. 25 Part 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 Group on the other.

Reprints

After its successful run at LIFE magazine, The World we Live in was released in book form in 1955,"An Extraordinary Book". (May 9, 1955) Life, Vol. 38, No. 19, p. 157. Note that LIFE Magazine was a subsidiary of Time Inc. The book is thus cited as Time is also often cited as the publisher of the series. abridged in 1956 for younger readers by Jane Werner Watson,"Announcing the New Special Edition of Life's The World we Live In". (Nov 12, 1956) Life, Vol. 41, No. 20, p. 5 and re-released in a three-volume "Family Edition" in 1962.This advertisement of the Kroger display version appeared in 1964: "The World We Live In Now in a Special Family Edition". (Jan 24, 1964) Life, Vol. 56, No. 4, p. 74. The original was published in 1962 by Barnett and Time.

Some minor schematic diagrams were cut to better fit the format of the book. Some of Chesley Bonestell's art, notably 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 young readers 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 was written to appeal to a general public. The calculations and traditional proofs of geology and the other natural sciences are absent, barring some statistics derived from those sciences of the times. The text features numerous quotations from non-scientific literature, including the Bible. In addition, care was taken to minimize references to topics that may offend a religious audience. 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"."Letters to the Editors". (Nov 9, 1953) Life, Vol. 35, No. 19, p. 11

The style of the text is elaborate and dramatic, sometimes excessively so. 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"."Letters to the Editors". (Dec 21, 1953) Life, Vol. 35, No. 25, p. 1 The rationale for mammalian dominance of the Earth from Ch. VI, for example, is presented in this way.

"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."Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part VI Age Of Mammals" (Oct 19, 1953) Life, Vol. 35, No. 16, p. 109

There is also marked personification and some bias. 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 rex, 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."Barnett, L. "The World We Live In: Part V The Pageant Of Life" (Sept. 7, 1953) Life, Vol. 35, No. 10, pp. 68-69