National Geographic 1989 July

National Geographic – July 1989
Publisher: National Geographic | ISBN: none (revolutions didn’t need ISBNs) | Condition: Good (like a tricolore still flying after two centuries)
Stormed from the Bastille of obscurity by Crappy Old Books

July 1989: Madonna was voguing, the Berlin Wall was about to wobble, and National Geographic was waving a tricolour and shouting “Vive la Révolution!” This issue (Vol. 176, No. 1) marked the Bicentennial of the French Revolution, with the Eiffel Tower lit up by fireworks and Parisians gathered in joyous mobs that looked far more photogenic than their 1789 predecessors. No guillotines this time — just glossy pages, double map supplements, and the comforting sense that history, once blood-soaked, had become excellent coffee-table décor.

Our copy is rated Good. Which means: the cover fireworks are still dazzling, the maps are still crisply folded (though possibly once used as emergency placemats), and the binding has held together longer than the Second Empire. It shows some mild signs of rebellion — faint creases, maybe a scuffed edge or two — but no outright insurrection in the margins.

Inside, the magazine takes you on a tour through France’s evolution as a nation: from storming the Bastille to storming wine cellars, from Robespierre’s speeches to De Gaulle’s shrug. It balances history with culture, geology with gastronomy, and a little light romanticising of cobblestoned streets. You’ll find earnest essays on liberté, égalité, fraternité, and probably a sidebar about cheese.

Why you might want this magazine:

• Because you enjoy revolutions best when bound in glossy yellow borders.

• Because the double map supplement is perfect for planning your own symbolic march across France (or just a holiday in Provence).

• Because owning this lets you mutter “let them eat cake” in a historically smug way.

• Because nothing says cultured intellectual like casually displaying a 1989 France issue during dinner.

So here it is: National Geographic, July 1989 — still Good, still glossy, still celebrating two centuries of liberté without a single guillotine stain. Offered, with revolutionary zeal, by Crappy Old Books, where even Bastille Day comes second-hand.

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