The seven sections of the book focus on places and people where the Smithsonian is particularly active: Up front with the exhibits, behind the scenes with the objects and the collections themselfes, in the laboratories and out at the zoo with natural history scientists, looking at the human condition with anthropologists & etc.

Explores man's perception of and relation to the sun from earliest times to the present, discussing the sun's origin, solar energy, and facts and theories that implicate the sun in near-disasters and including hundreds of photographs and illustrations.

Describes what is currently known about human evolution, loks at the work of anthropologists, and discusses the human traits of consciousness and language.

Traces the development of the plasticwares in the 1940s and 50s, especially the "party plan" marketing strategy developed by Brownie Wise.

Overseen and authenticated by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, Natural History presents an unrivaled visual survey of Earth's natural history. Giving a clear overview of the classification of our natural world-over 6,000 species-Natural History looks at every kingdom of life, from bacteria, minerals, and rocks to fossils to plants and animals. --from publisher description.

Willis (photography, Tisch School of the Arts, New York U.) has assembled an exhilarating collection of black & white photographs in this handsome oversize volume that celebrates Black culture.

One of the most visited galleries of the National Portrait Gallery is ?America?s Presidents,{7f2000} the collection of portraits of the elected leaders of the United States that is at the heart of the Gallery?s mission to tell the American story through the individuals who have shaped it. More than a visual record of the holders of power, these images evoke the careers and legacies of the men they portray.