The series premiered in 1958. Stopped in 1961 after 36 issues.

The series dedicated each issue to a particular subject from nature, history, or science. Some of the subjects were boating, great scientists, magic, prehistoric animals, pirates, and Vikings. The series was immensely popular, but the publisher decided to stop, probably because of the uprising of television that would often deal with the same issues.

The full title of the series was The Illustrated Story of the World Around Us.