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The 21st Century: Photographs From the Image Collection
The best photographs of the first 21 years of the 21st century take center stage in this incredible volume of National Geographic's world-famous imagery.
In just two short decades of the 21st century, National Geographic has ushered in a new era of visual storytelling excellence, including innovations in digital, drone, and smartphone photography, and reached out to a global audience through one of the world's most popular Instagram accounts, @NatGeo. In these 21 years, photography has transformed from a rarefied discipline to a universal medium of communication, available in the palm of everyone with a mobile phone. Through it all, National Geographic has remained at the forefront, shining a light on the beauty, wonder, and heartbreak of the world.
A remarkable collection, The 21st Century culls more than 250 of the very best, most impactful National Geographic images across print, digital, and social media, celebrating:
Extraordinary wildlife
Unique cultures around the world
Beautiful landscapes
One-of-a-kind portrait photography
And behind-the-shot stories from celebrated National Geographic photographers like Joel Sartore, Nick Nichols, Jodi Cobb, Anand Varma, and Evgenia Arbugaeva.
Spanning the remarkable moments year-by-year from 2000 to 2021, The 21st Century is a beautiful, giftable, and important record of our rapidly changing world--a treasury you'll want to keep on the coffee table and turn to again and again.
Complete your National Geographic photography collection with best-selling favorites:
America the Beautiful: A Story in Photographs
Women: The National Geographic Image Collection
National Geographic Rarely Seen: Photographs of the Extraordinary
National Geographic The Photo Ark: One Man's Quest to Document the World's Animals
In just two short decades of the 21st century, National Geographic has ushered in a new era of visual storytelling excellence, including innovations in digital, drone, and smartphone photography, and reached out to a global audience through one of the world's most popular Instagram accounts, @NatGeo. In these 21 years, photography has transformed from a rarefied discipline to a universal medium of communication, available in the palm of everyone with a mobile phone. Through it all, National Geographic has remained at the forefront, shining a light on the beauty, wonder, and heartbreak of the world.
A remarkable collection, The 21st Century culls more than 250 of the very best, most impactful National Geographic images across print, digital, and social media, celebrating:
Extraordinary wildlife
Unique cultures around the world
Beautiful landscapes
One-of-a-kind portrait photography
And behind-the-shot stories from celebrated National Geographic photographers like Joel Sartore, Nick Nichols, Jodi Cobb, Anand Varma, and Evgenia Arbugaeva.
Spanning the remarkable moments year-by-year from 2000 to 2021, The 21st Century is a beautiful, giftable, and important record of our rapidly changing world--a treasury you'll want to keep on the coffee table and turn to again and again.
Complete your National Geographic photography collection with best-selling favorites:
America the Beautiful: A Story in Photographs
Women: The National Geographic Image Collection
National Geographic Rarely Seen: Photographs of the Extraordinary
National Geographic The Photo Ark: One Man's Quest to Document the World's Animals
432 pages, Hardcover
Published November 2, 2021
4 people are currently reading
5654 people want to read
About the author
National Geographic Society
4,222 books1,120 followersThe National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history. The National Geographic Society's logo is a yellow portrait frame—rectangular in shape—which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines and as its television channel logo. Through National Geographic Partners (a joint venture with The Walt Disney Company), the Society operates the magazine, TV channels, a website, worldwide events, and other media operations.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history. The National Geographic Society's logo is a yellow portrait frame—rectangular in shape—which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines and as its television channel logo. Through National Geographic Partners (a joint venture with The Walt Disney Company), the Society operates the magazine, TV channels, a website, worldwide events, and other media operations.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 11, 2026
The 21st Century: Photographs from the Image Collection
by National Geographic Society is a collection of photographs from their large image collection. Although the magazine was first published in 1888, it did not have photos until 1906. This event caused two board members to quit.
This book covers photographs from 2000 through 2021 with short comments about each one. It is also interspersed with slightly longer narratives from various photographers and featuring one of their photos.
While the photos celebrate a wide range of topics including wildlife, cultures around the world, landscapes, and portraits, it is arranged in chapters of approximately four-to-five-year increments. This didn’t work well for me. I felt the book would have felt more cohesive if the chapters had been broken down in topics versus years. It could have still progressed through the years within each of those chapters.
Overall, the organization of the book was disappointing and didn’t work for me, but the photographs were spectacular.
This book was received as a gift. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book was originally published on November 02, 2021.
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My 3.44 rounded to 3 stars review is coming soon.
This book covers photographs from 2000 through 2021 with short comments about each one. It is also interspersed with slightly longer narratives from various photographers and featuring one of their photos.
While the photos celebrate a wide range of topics including wildlife, cultures around the world, landscapes, and portraits, it is arranged in chapters of approximately four-to-five-year increments. This didn’t work well for me. I felt the book would have felt more cohesive if the chapters had been broken down in topics versus years. It could have still progressed through the years within each of those chapters.
Overall, the organization of the book was disappointing and didn’t work for me, but the photographs were spectacular.
This book was received as a gift. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book was originally published on November 02, 2021.
-----------------------------------
My 3.44 rounded to 3 stars review is coming soon.
December 6, 2021
A great pictorial history of this century so far
October 28, 2021
National Geographic The 21st Century: Photographs From the Image Collection is a very highly recommended diverse collection of the best National Geographic photos from 2000-2021. The 21 years of photos are organized into four chapters by years. Chapter 1 covers 2000-2005; Chapter 2 covers 2006-2010; Chapter 3 covers 2011-2015; and Chapter 4 covers 2016-2021. The photos from this time span also represent new advancements in photography, including innovations in digital, drone, and smartphone photography. National Geographic has always represented the absolute best in photography from across the world, showcasing natural wonders, animals, and humans.
Over the years I still recall many National Geographic photos that depicted scenes of incredible beauty and wonder, global sites, and people from around the world which all captured my heart and imagination. National Geographic The 21st Century: Photographs From the Image Collection is a wonderful continuation of this long tradition of excellence. The photos presented all include the name of the photographer, the year of the photo and a brief description or information about the photo.
Some photos of natural wonders that are noteworthy for me include: Diane Cook and Len Jenshel, students standing in front of a Montezuma cypress (with a circumference of 119 feet); Jim Richardson, the Isle of Staffa, Scotland, basalt pillars in Fingal's Cave; Michael Melford, Alaska, the Gates of the Arctic National Park; Joel Santore, Sofala Province, Mozambique, a pair of blue waxbills; Carsten Peter, New South Wales, Australia, ferns in Claustral Canyon; Andrea Marshall, Mozambique, jellyfish and brittle stars; Nick Upton, a harvest mouse on a hogweed flower; Randy Olson, sandhill cranes on the Platte River; Brent Stirton, Democratic Republic of the Congo, part of a herd of 600 elephants.
Photos capturing the human condition include: Lynn Johnson's 2001 photo of first responders on September 11th; Jody Cobb, female slaves in Bihar, India, balancing dozens of bricks on their heads; Mike Hettwer, exhibition workers finishing a replica of a 50 foot long Spinosaurus aegyptiacus; Dave Yoder, archaeologist at the Lost City of the Monkey God; Andrea Frazzetta, three generations of women preparing culurgiones.
Obviously I do tend to gravitate more to the natural and animal photos. At the end of the book is an index of the contributors, acknowledgements, and illustration credits. This is an amazing collection of photos. Although every single photo may not resonate for everyone, the wide variety of photos will surely please most people. This would make a wonderful gift.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from National Geographic for TLC Book Tours.
Over the years I still recall many National Geographic photos that depicted scenes of incredible beauty and wonder, global sites, and people from around the world which all captured my heart and imagination. National Geographic The 21st Century: Photographs From the Image Collection is a wonderful continuation of this long tradition of excellence. The photos presented all include the name of the photographer, the year of the photo and a brief description or information about the photo.
Some photos of natural wonders that are noteworthy for me include: Diane Cook and Len Jenshel, students standing in front of a Montezuma cypress (with a circumference of 119 feet); Jim Richardson, the Isle of Staffa, Scotland, basalt pillars in Fingal's Cave; Michael Melford, Alaska, the Gates of the Arctic National Park; Joel Santore, Sofala Province, Mozambique, a pair of blue waxbills; Carsten Peter, New South Wales, Australia, ferns in Claustral Canyon; Andrea Marshall, Mozambique, jellyfish and brittle stars; Nick Upton, a harvest mouse on a hogweed flower; Randy Olson, sandhill cranes on the Platte River; Brent Stirton, Democratic Republic of the Congo, part of a herd of 600 elephants.
Photos capturing the human condition include: Lynn Johnson's 2001 photo of first responders on September 11th; Jody Cobb, female slaves in Bihar, India, balancing dozens of bricks on their heads; Mike Hettwer, exhibition workers finishing a replica of a 50 foot long Spinosaurus aegyptiacus; Dave Yoder, archaeologist at the Lost City of the Monkey God; Andrea Frazzetta, three generations of women preparing culurgiones.
Obviously I do tend to gravitate more to the natural and animal photos. At the end of the book is an index of the contributors, acknowledgements, and illustration credits. This is an amazing collection of photos. Although every single photo may not resonate for everyone, the wide variety of photos will surely please most people. This would make a wonderful gift.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from National Geographic for TLC Book Tours.
November 9, 2021
Do you love looking at beautiful photographs? I know I do. The 21st Century is a wonderful collection of images from the National Geographic Society. The photographic archives of the National Geographic Society holds tens of millions of images including 11.5 million physical objects in their vault and 50 million on their digital servers as told by Editor-in-Chief Susan Goldberg in the foreword. She also has an interesting tidbit that there were no photographs in the first few issues of the National Geographic magazine when it was first printed in 1888. When pictures were first put into the magazine, a few individuals resigned from the board as they thought it was so low brow.
The goal of this book is to show our “shared history told through photography” of the last twenty years. The start of the century has National Geographic photographer Robert Clark’s iconic images of the World Trade Center being hit. These photographs will give me a punch in the gut no matter how many times I see them. I loved the quotes from the photographers on why photography is important to them such as “Photography is a weapon against what’s wrong out there. It’s bearing witness to the truth.” – Brent Stirton.
This book is split into four chapters, each covering approximately five years starting in 2000 and ending in 2021. The book is coffee table book size and has beautiful glossy pictures. The pictures are from around the world of nature, ordinary people, and some historic events or people. Pope Francis has an iconic picture at the start of the book. Each picture has a short description with the photographer, year, and place. I also like the “through the lens” sections that are interspersed through the book with thoughts from the photographer about the picture that they took. There are brief bios of all of the photographers at the end of the book.
Overall, The 21st Century: Photographs from the Image Collection by National Geographic is a beautiful book full of gorgeous images. I find it relaxing to peruse through them and it’s a wonderful book to look out for company to share.
Book Source: Review Copy from Hachette Book Group for being a part of the TLC Book Tour. Thank-you. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This review was first posted on my blog at: https://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2021...
The goal of this book is to show our “shared history told through photography” of the last twenty years. The start of the century has National Geographic photographer Robert Clark’s iconic images of the World Trade Center being hit. These photographs will give me a punch in the gut no matter how many times I see them. I loved the quotes from the photographers on why photography is important to them such as “Photography is a weapon against what’s wrong out there. It’s bearing witness to the truth.” – Brent Stirton.
This book is split into four chapters, each covering approximately five years starting in 2000 and ending in 2021. The book is coffee table book size and has beautiful glossy pictures. The pictures are from around the world of nature, ordinary people, and some historic events or people. Pope Francis has an iconic picture at the start of the book. Each picture has a short description with the photographer, year, and place. I also like the “through the lens” sections that are interspersed through the book with thoughts from the photographer about the picture that they took. There are brief bios of all of the photographers at the end of the book.
Overall, The 21st Century: Photographs from the Image Collection by National Geographic is a beautiful book full of gorgeous images. I find it relaxing to peruse through them and it’s a wonderful book to look out for company to share.
Book Source: Review Copy from Hachette Book Group for being a part of the TLC Book Tour. Thank-you. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This review was first posted on my blog at: https://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2021...
November 28, 2022
Okay, I have to admit. My start date for reading this book was actually only the date I decided I would look through this book. In actuality I didn't actually crack it open and get beyond the first page or two until today when I finished the whole thing. Why? It's a big coffee table book, you need two hands to pick it up. I was intimidated. Well, once you open it up and start looking through it and reading the captions it's not bad at all. Ultimately, the book was worth a look. Practically I don't feel it's a book I need to buy. Too expensive and takes up too much space and the pics I guess were just not what I'm looking for. It's taken this book for me to realize I prefer pics of animals and landscapes. Somewhere out there, outside of a calendar, there's got to be something for me, I just haven't found it yet.
December 26, 2024
This collection of photographs from Nat Geo spans over 21 years, 2000-2021. From this, contributors have brought together a wide array of HD photographs that represented both events and the eras we lived in as the years passed. Many in this collection range from historical, symbolic, natural, and a handful of artistically touched ones.
Some of these may seem simple and plain, but I found most of them to display strong messages in the shots. A majority speaks on the times we all lived through and current issues we, as a society, face still: racism prejudice, nature conservation, poverty, cultural appreciation, scientific advancement, etc. Every era has its goods and bads, and this collection captures them all beautifully. I would say this coffee table book is not only a historical record, but also an appreciation for all the wonders that has been captured for the world to see.
Some of these may seem simple and plain, but I found most of them to display strong messages in the shots. A majority speaks on the times we all lived through and current issues we, as a society, face still: racism prejudice, nature conservation, poverty, cultural appreciation, scientific advancement, etc. Every era has its goods and bads, and this collection captures them all beautifully. I would say this coffee table book is not only a historical record, but also an appreciation for all the wonders that has been captured for the world to see.
November 8, 2024
This is a great book, but landscape and animal photographs are more to my liking and less so the human dominated pictures.
Some of my favorites:
1. a microchipped Harvest Mouse in the wild - England
the angle of the photo is what makes it - shot from below the mouse
2. school of fish in mangrove roots - Cuba
the colors are gorgeous -silver sided fish swarming around the red roots, taken from below
3. a flock of sandhill cranes - Nebraska, USA
taken at dusk, the water is lit up with the cranes in silhouette, some in flight, with lightning splitting the picture
4. a pair of Japanese cranes dancing in the blowing snow - Japan
the black and white birds really pop against the background
5. streaked sunlight through fall foliage - Maine, USA
the white rays piercing the fog-shrouded trees is an incredible sight
Some of my favorites:
1. a microchipped Harvest Mouse in the wild - England
the angle of the photo is what makes it - shot from below the mouse
2. school of fish in mangrove roots - Cuba
the colors are gorgeous -silver sided fish swarming around the red roots, taken from below
3. a flock of sandhill cranes - Nebraska, USA
taken at dusk, the water is lit up with the cranes in silhouette, some in flight, with lightning splitting the picture
4. a pair of Japanese cranes dancing in the blowing snow - Japan
the black and white birds really pop against the background
5. streaked sunlight through fall foliage - Maine, USA
the white rays piercing the fog-shrouded trees is an incredible sight
November 5, 2021
When I think of NatGeo, stunning images come to mind, and this new collection (out this week!) of their best from the 21st Century thus far is simply breathtaking. I have poured over this book 3 times now (once with my son, who I have found flipping through on his own as well), and each time I find some new detail that I didn’t notice before. Images of people, places, and animals from around the world!
I enjoy the introduction in the front, and then minimal text (other than photo captions). It really lets you take in the feeling of the images themselves, without digesting what an editor wants you to know or think about them.
Thanks to NatGeo and TLC BookTours for this gifted book!
I enjoy the introduction in the front, and then minimal text (other than photo captions). It really lets you take in the feeling of the images themselves, without digesting what an editor wants you to know or think about them.
Thanks to NatGeo and TLC BookTours for this gifted book!
November 20, 2021
Gorgeous photographs
I liked the cute little panda bear doing some rock yoga and the colorful birds and the army of sun worshipping meerkats … I did prefer the fascinating colorful animal photographs over the cityscapes and human interest ones…
I liked the cute little panda bear doing some rock yoga and the colorful birds and the army of sun worshipping meerkats … I did prefer the fascinating colorful animal photographs over the cityscapes and human interest ones…
November 27, 2021
Great photographs and short descriptions to show the first 20 years of the 21st century. Yes, true. It also demonstrates this GREAT BIG World we live in! An opportunity to see what is almost impossible for most of us to see. Excellent learning through the eyes!
April 7, 2022
The juxtaposition of some of the photos was GENIUS! I loved seeing the progression of photography and the world in just the span of 20ish years.
June 2, 2022
This is a BEAUTIFUL book of photos from National Geographic's collection. It also includes some thoughts from many of the photographers who are featured in the book. Definitely worth the look!
February 12, 2023
Beautiful pictures..
July 23, 2025
Beautiful and endearing photos. High quality book. Very politically biased to the left though.
January 12, 2022
Take a look back over the past 20 years with some of the world's best photographers. This hefty volume is packed with full-color photographs of people, places, animals, objects, and events from around the world--and above it. National Geographic is well-known for their imagery, which makes this book the perfect companion for an afternoon of reading.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews