Reader's Digest unites its readers and their families like no other brand through the simplest of acts: sharing stories, laughs, and great advice. Heading into its 100th anniversary, Reader's Digest is America's fourth largest-circulation magazine brand, standing
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out more than ever in today's cultural landscape due to its themes of optimism, faith, heroism, trust, humor, and wellness. Online RD.com publishes hundreds of original articles a month to give homeowners peace of mind, and save them time and money, by helping them know exactly what and what not to worry about. Our new brand, the Healthy, covers health and medical information with depth and authority, while our books, including the famous condensed fiction series Select Editions , deliver a bundle of emotions from curiosity and amazement to reassurance, gratitude, and amusement. In all its work, Reader's Digest carries on its singular, historic vision: to bring out the good in people and families everywhere.
Reader's Digest was first published in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Acheson Wallace. A man ahead of his time and the world's earliest “content curator,” DeWitt Wallace recognized that people were hungry for information but overwhelmed by choice, so he began collecting the best stories from a vast
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array of publications and condensing them into what today is almost universally referred to as “the Reader's Digest version.” Each issue contained 31 articles (one to read each day of the month) of “enduring value and interest, in condensed and compact form.” Within five years the Wallaces were printing and distributing 30,000 copies. By the 1940s, the Digest had surpassed 1 million copies a month and was the best selling publication in America—”exceeded in sales only by the Bible and spreading its own gospel of “America the Great.”
Ground-Breaking Journalism
Through the years Reader's Digest editors continued to curate the best content from foremost publications and began also to commission ground-breaking reporting and original works that influenced public perception and sometimes forged changes in policy. 1935: “And Sudden Death” by Joseph C. Furnas reported
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on the rising death toll caused by automobile accidents—”and some say laid the groundwork for seat-belt safety laws. 1940: "I Quit Smoking, or Cooper's Last Stand" by Courtney Ryley Cooper was included in the case file for the congressional hearings on the tobacco industry. 1950: "How Harmful are Cigarettes?" by Roger William Riis. 1952: “Cancer by the Carton” by Roy Norr contributed to the largest drop in cigarette consumption America had seen since the Depression. 1962: "Danger: Smoke at Your Own Risk” summarized the latest findings from the scientific community about the health risks of smoking, including the then-newly discovered link to heart disease. 1965: "The Shame of Our Nursing Homes" by Alfred Balk brought the horrors of nursing home abuse into America's living room and consciousness. 1977: Murder of a Gentle Land: The Untold Story of a Communist Genocide in Cambodia. A Reader's Digest original book by John Barron and Anthony Paul, it was the first documented account of Khmer Rouge atrocities. 1980: " ...
Our Mission
Today, on the cusp of our 100th birthday, we continue to curate the very best and most engaging content for our readers, both print and digital. Reader's Digest shares trusted advice and stories to help you and your family enjoy healthy, wealthy, and wise lives. We get to the heart of the matter and
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keep it simple, informative, and fun. "Shares" summarizes our process in a word. What authors, experts, journalists, and our own community shares with us, we in turn share with the world. "Trusted" is our core trait, and we double down on it. Whether it's a thrilling real-life drama or an in-depth article about colon cancer, we strive for everything we publish to be accurate and in context. "You and your family" remain our North Star. We'll always look for opportunities to be a glue of good feeling and life lessons across the generations. The Reader's Digest Version gets to the "heart of the matter" with light-heartedness whenever possible. That means "simple, informative and fun" applies across every platform. Finally—” "healthy, wealthy and wise." Our promise applies across America's three most important universal aspirations, hearkening back to Founding Father Ben Franklin.
Our Editorial Team
Our editorial team is made up of writers, editors, and contributors with extensive professional experience in their fields of expertise. We share a journalistic commitment to providing our readers with the very best and most authoritative information on the internet.
Reader's Digest Worldwide
Reader's Digest was the first print magazine to go international, starting with the United Kingdom in 1938, followed by a Spanish language edition in 1940, and eventually publishing in 17 languages in 34 countries.
Shopping
At Reader's Digest, we shine a spotlight on the products and brands our readers can trust. Our experienced shopping editors scour the Internet to bring you the best items worth buying and the sales worth shopping.
