BEST OF 2020: MAGAZINE SPECIALS

I usually include these with books that I have read since reading one of the many magazine specials highlights a piece of history that is worth a feature length book just in magazine format.  The reason why these are important is because several publishers produce these magazine specials every year on important subjects and surprisingly these magazines are more expensive than if they had just been put in book form. 

 

Most of the publishers are SPC (through History, Life Explores), TISP (through Time Special Editions, Life Books) and AMI (which does a host of varying subjects).  What I have learned over the last two years of reading these magazines is that they are very topical and of varying subjects to appeal to a multitude of interests and hobbies.

 

Because of the pandemic and quarantine, I had a lot of time to catch up on a lot of magazine specials that had been on my shelf.  I ended up getting through twenty-two of these specials and most of them kept to the theme of religions, presidents, and secrets & civilizations.

 

In terms of presidents, I read Andrew Jackson: An American Populist (TISP), The Day Kennedy Died: 50 Years Later Remembering the Man and the Moment (Time Inc. Specials), and The United States Presidents: The Best and Worst of All Time (Centennial Spotlight).  These were not all printed in the last year by the way but because 2020 was such a politically charged year I wanted to read what I had on hand about some of our nation’s presidents.  I learned more about our presidents reading these three magazines then I ever thought I wanted especially through the Best and Worst of All Time.  Our political and presidential climate has changed so much over the years.  Some of this bled into the America’s National Parks: Celebrating Our Land and Heritage (TISP) as well since the national parks are so connected to our government.

 

This interest then bled into my look into a lot of religious figures and religion.  It started off with the Bible through Amazing Places of the Bible: Travel Through Time to Sacred Sites That Shaped the World (Centennial Entertainment), Jesus: How His Lessons, Miracles and Devotion Changed the World (SPC), and Mysteries of the Bible: Uncovering Its Origins, Characters, and Miracles (SPC).  I have always had an interest in world religions and religious figures.  These lead to me reading Mary: Blessed Art Thou Among Women (SPC), Mother Teresa: The Life and Works of a Modern Saint (Time Inc. Specials), and Francis: The Pope’s Bold Message Comes to America.  The amazing thing about these last three is that they gave me a better understanding of the subject and the deep belief that people have. 

 

A huge selection of these magazines has to do with secret civilizations, secrets societies and mysteries that would normally only be read in tabloid magazines.  Some of the ones that I read during the lockdown were Ancient Civilizations: The Secrets of Lost Empires (SPC), Ghost Towns: The Places That Time Forgot (TISP), PBS Secrets of the Dead: Ancient Mysteries Unearthed (TISP), Secret Societies (SPC), and Mysteries of the Loch Ness Monster (AMI).  Surprisingly, these were not as interesting as some of the others, but they were informative.  I think since these were made more as like a catalogue of info instead of dedicated to a specific person, place, or thing, they were not nearly as effective a read.  They were a quick read which was a good thing.  They also had some pretty damn good photographs and artwork as well.

 

There were a few people that I was particularly interested in which is why I read the following Aladdin: The Origins and Journey of the World’s Most Magical Tale (TISP), Martin Luther King Jr.: His Life and Legacy: 50 Years Later (Time Inc. Specials), Mickey Mouse: Life Celebrates an American Icon (TISP), Mister Rogers: The Magical World of an American Icon (TISP). 

 

The publications were all of various different years.  After I started getting into these during the pandemic, I ended up buying more through eBay and discovered that there were tons of these specials out there and even more with overlapping subjects between different publishers.  It’s a good thing to keep in mind that these specials are a very valuable tool to get info out there to a larger audience (who would rather probably not pick up a book) but another important element is that they also seem to be more up to date with current info rather than out of date or older info (like you would find by reading an older book).  I am hoping that in 2021 I’ll be able to get through even more as there are plenty of specials still sitting on my shelf waiting to be read!