Story of Life, as each cover reads, is an “Encyclopedia of the Human Mind and Body.” Only it’s not really an encyclopedia; it’s a magazine, released between 1969 and 1970, with 105 weekly “parts” (not issues). I picked up parts 19, 21, and 27 at Out of the Closet’s magazine racks as kind of an afterthought—they looked weird, and each issue was only 25 cents. If nothing else, it could go in the bathroom and make for interesting conversation.

What drove me to buy them were the covers: each copy features a strange portrait of a man or men engaged in various activities while stoically eyeing the camera. The cover of 27 features four men—a “Peasant Farmer,” a member of the Chinese Red Guard, an Indian Sikh, and a Western businessman (complete with briefcase and bowler). Each man (they’re probably all models) is apparently a case study into humanity’s motivation to live, succeed, and reproduce.

What’s inside the cover, though, is what makes these magazines worth keeping. The articles are dated, sure, but also so fascinatingly diverse that it’s impossible not to get totally engulfed in the layout, photos, and content. Topics discussed include the anatomy of a toe amputation, how animals obtain oxygen, a diagram called “Motherhood, the Eight-Fold Path,” the many faces of aggression . . . the list goes on. Also, every back cover is a page from an actual encyclopedia.

Story of Life is less an anachronism than an anomaly—and even more so when found in a thrift store, because here it’s totally deprived of context. And it’s this exceptional aesthetic that makes Story of Life such an engaging and bizarre read. Think of it as a coffee-table book that’s both an ornament and, should someone pick it up, an inevitable discussion.

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