San Francisco - Alison Bing [243]
Commissioning Editors Jennye Garibaldi, Suki Gear
Coordinating Editors Carolyn Boicos, Simon Williamson
Coordinating Cartographer Marc Milinkovic
Coordinating Layout Designers Jessica Rose, Kerrianne Southway
Senior Editors Helen Christinis, Katie Lynch
Managing Cartographers Alison Lyall, Adrian Persoglia
Managing Layout Designer Sally Darmody
Assisting Editor Gabrielle Stefanos
Assisting Cartographer Khanh Luu
Cover Paul Mosig, lonelyplanetimages.com
Project Managers Bronwyn Hicks, Craig Kilburn
Thanks to Shahara Ahmed, Lucy Birchley, Jessica Boland, Daniel Corbett, Melanie Dankel, Heather Dickson, Indra Kilfoyle, Wayne Murphy, Raphael Richards, Juan Winata
Cover photographs Living roof, California Academy of Sciences image gallery/Tim Griffith (top). Golden Gate Bridge engulfed in fog, Morton Beebe/CORBIS (bottom).
Internal photographs p9 (#3) Amy Snyder/The Exploratorium; p10 (#2) Ed Kashi/Corbis. All other photographs by Lonely Planet Images: p5 (#1), p13 (#3), p16 (#2), p16 (#3) Richard Cummins; p6 (#1), p6 (#2), p6 (#3), p7 (#1), p7 (#2), p8 (#1), p8 (#3), p9 (#2), p10 (#1), p10 (#3), p13 (#1), p13 (#2), p15 (#2) Sabrina Dalbesio; p5 (#3) John Elk III; p2, p4 (#1), p4 (#2), p16 (#1) Lee Foster; p5 (#2), p11 (#2), p14 (#1), p15 (#1) Rick Gerharter; p8 (#2), p14 (#3) Roberto Gerometta; p4 (#3) Johnny Haglund; p3 Holger Leue; p12 (#2) Curtis Martin; p9 (#1) Mark Newman; p11 (#1), p11 (#3), p14 (#2) Rachael Nusbaum; p7 (#3), p12 (#1) Anthony Pidgeon.
All images are copyright of the photographer unless otherwise indicated. Many of the images in this guide are available for licensing from Lonely Planet Images: www.lonelyplanetimages.com.
* * *
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.
Travelers 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 traveling 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 traveling 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!’
* * *
Return to beginning of chapter
THANKS
ALISON BING
Many thanks and crushing California bear hugs to editorial superhero Suki Gear; delightful coauthor, co-conspirator, muse and raconteur John A Vlahides; fellow travelers Jennye Garibaldi and Carolyn Boicos; fearless leaders Brice Gosnell and Heather Dickson at Lonely Planet; cartographer Alison Lyall; editor Sasha Baskett; project manager Craig Kilburn; the Sanchez Writers’ Grotto for steady inspiration; fellow foodies Dee Budney, Sahai Burrowes, Yosh Han, Luke Haas, Mini Kahlon, Dave Knox, Lisa Park, Raj Patel and Cook Here and Now; and above all to Marco Flavio Marinucci, whose powerful kindness and bracing espresso makes anything possible, including romance on a skeevy Muni bus.
JOHN A VLAHIDES
John A Vlahides is grateful to his coauthor Alison Bing, commissioning editor Suki Gear, cartographer