1936
Seeking to modernize what he sees as old-fashioned guidebooks, Eugene Fodor publishes 1936 On the Continent for British travelers. (Pictured: the 50th anniversary edition.) On its heels: 1937 in Europe, aimed at visitors from the U.S.
1957
With Europe on 5 Dollars a Day, Arthur Frommer democratizes travel for the average American. (He’d already self-published 1955’s The G.I.’s Guide to Travelling in Europe for fellow soldiers.)
1973
Tony Wheeler, recently returned from an overland Asia trip with his wife, Maureen, meets Bill Dalton, who’s selling his A Traveler’s Notes: Indonesia in Sydney. Wheeler gets the name of Dalton’s printer, and Across Asia on the Cheap marks the start of Lonely Planet.
1976
Dalton expands his stapled-together Indonesia traveler’s notes and, using a Singapore printer recommended by Maureen Wheeler, produces the 180-page Indonesia & Papua New Guinea, the first true Moon guide.
1980
Piano teacher and travel lecturer Rick Steves self-publishes Europe Through the Back Door. A PBS series, political activism, and more follow.
1982
Mark Bellingham’s The Rough Guide to Greece, now in its 17th edition, launches a fleet of titles spanning six continents and more than 90 destinations.
