Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [289]
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BRANDON PRESSER West Iceland, The Westfjords, Northwest Iceland, Northeast Iceland, East Iceland, The Highlands
Growing up in northern Canada, Brandon was all too familiar with sweeping desolate terrain and shiver-worthy landscapes. But no snowdrift was big enough to prepare him for the sheer awesomeness of the remote Icelandic countryside. It was a simple transcontinental layover that turned harmless curiosity into full-blown infatuation and now, several years later, he’s checked off almost every fjord head and mountain pass from his to-do list. He’s even received compliments on his Icelandic pronunciation! (His grammar, however, is improving at glacial speeds.) Brandon spends most of the year writing his way across the globe – he’s authored a dozen Lonely Planet guides and explored more than 50 countries. Which one is his favourite? You’re reading about it right now. Brandon also wrote Food & Drink, Environment, Activities, Gateway to Greenland & the Faeroes and Transport.
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Behind the Scenes
* * *
THIS BOOK
THANKS
OUR READERS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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THIS BOOK
This 7th edition of Iceland was researched and written by Fran Parnell and Brandon Presser. The 1st edition was written by Deanna Swaney, who also updated the 2nd edition. The 3rd edition was updated by Graeme Cornwalls and Deanna Swaney, and Graeme updated the 4th edition on his own. We sent Paul Harding and Joe Bindloss on the road to update the 5th edition, while Fran Parnell and Etain O’Carroll wrote and updated the 6th edition.
Commissioning Editor Jo Potts
Coordinating Editor Susan Paterson
Coordinating Cartographer Amanda Sierp
Coordinating Layout Designer Kerrianne Southway
Managing Editor Laura Stansfeld
Managing Cartographers Adrian Persoglia, Herman So
Managing Layout Designer Sally Darmody
Assisting Editors Susie Ashworth, David Carroll, Nigel Chin, Justin Flynn, Averil Robertson
Assisting Layout Designer Nicholas Colicchia
Cover Research Naomi Parker, lonelyplanet.images.com
Internal Image Research Aude Vauconsant, lonelyplanetimages.com
Project Managers Rachel Imeson, Glenn van der Knijff
Language Content Branislava Vladisavljevic
Thanks to Lucy Birchley, Matthew Cashmore, Owen Eszeki, Ryan Evans, Annelies Mertens, Lucy Monie, Wayne Murphy, Trent Paton, Lyahna Spencer
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THE LONELY PLANET STORY
Fresh from an epic journey across Europe, Asia and Australia in 1972, Tony and Maureen Wheeler sat at their kitchen table stapling together notes. The first Lonely Planet guidebook, Across Asia on the Cheap, was born.
Travellers snapped up the guides. Inspired by their success, the Wheelers began publishing books to Southeast Asia, India and beyond. Demand was prodigious, and the Wheelers expanded the business rapidly to keep up. Over the years, Lonely Planet extended its coverage to every country and into the virtual world via lonelyplanet.com and the Thorn Tree message board.
As Lonely Planet became a globally loved brand, Tony and Maureen received several offers for the company. But it wasn’t until 2007 that they found a partner whom they trusted to remain true to the company’s principles of travelling widely, treading lightly and giving sustainably. In October of that year, BBC Worldwide acquired a 75% share in the company, pledging to uphold Lonely Planet’s commitment to independent travel, trustworthy advice and editorial independence.
Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with over 500 staff members and 300 authors. Tony and Maureen are still actively involved with Lonely Planet. They’re travelling more often than ever, and they’re devoting their spare time to charitable projects. And the company is still driven by the philosophy of Across Asia on the Cheap: ‘All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!’
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THANKS
FRAN PARNELL
A huge thank you to everyone who helped during research and writing. This includes tourist-office,