Where no man has gone before

TO the would-be explorer the senior editor (expeditions) at the National Geographic Magazine is a magnetic figure, but daunting. He looks through those shoals of letters which arrive weekly with pleas of sponsorship for proposed expeditions.

The vast majority of such letters are given a firm, polite and negative reply.

A lucky few correspondents may be invited to come to the magazine’s imposing building in Washington DC to discuss their projects further.