Whole Earth Catalog~Winter 1998~30th Anniversary Celebration~The Complete 1968 Catalog~Extremely Rare and Collectible~Free Insured Shipping

Whole Earth Catalog~Winter 1998~30th Anniversary Celebration~The Complete 1968 Catalog~Extremely Rare and Collectible~Free Insured Shipping.

This is truly a rare find. It is the 30th anniversary edition of the Whole Earth Catalog in the winter of 1998. It is the complete 1968 Whole Earth Catalog with new writings by Stewart Brand, Andrew Weil, Lynn Margolis, Kevin Kelly, Brian Eno, Peter Coyote, Wendell Berry and many more. We found this treasure in a small shop in Taos, New Mexico several years ago. It is a true classic!

This catalog is in very good condition. Minor cover wear. Slight bend on corners of catalog. See photos. No markings or inscriptions. Be aware that the crackle effects in the cover are in the photo of the cover. They are not the sign of wear.

The Whole Earth Catalog (WEC) was an American counterculture magazine and product catalog published by Stewart Brand several times a year between 1968 and 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998. The magazine featured essays and articles, but was primarily focused on product reviews. The editorial focus was on self-sufficiency, ecology, alternative education, “do it yourself” (DIY), and holism, and featured the slogan “access to tools”. While WEC listed and reviewed a wide range of products (clothing, books, tools, machines, seeds, etc.), it did not sell any of the products directly. Instead, the vendor’s contact information was listed alongside the item and its review. This is why, while not a regularly published periodical, numerous editions and updates were required to keep price and availability information up to date.

The title Whole Earth Catalog came from a previous project by Stewart Brand. In 1966, he initiated a public campaign to have NASA release the then-rumored satellite photo of the sphere of Earth as seen from space, one of the first image of the “Whole Earth”. He thought the image might be a powerful symbol, evoking a sense of shared destiny and adaptive strategies from people. The Stanford-educated Brand, a biologist with strong artistic and social interests, believed that there was a groundswell of commitment to thoroughly renovating American industrial society along ecologically and socially just lines, whatever they might prove to be.

Steve Jobs compared The Whole Earth Catalog to Internet search engine Google in his June 2005 Stanford University commencement speech.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation ... It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along. It was idealistic and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Then at the very end of this commencement speech Jobs quotes explicitly the farewell message placed on the back cover of the last 1974 edition of the Catalog (#1180 October 1974 titled Whole Earth Epilog) and makes it his own final recommendation : “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

1967 - ATS-3: another claim for first full-disk color pictures of the Earth; subsequently used on the cover of the first Whole Earth Catalog. - From Wikipedia

“From our book shelf to yours. Wishing you great reading.” Barbara and Michael

If you have any questions about this item, please feel free to convo us.

Each book in our collection has been hand selected by Barbara and Michael over many years of hunting for them. We hope you will find a special treasure to read or share.