Tony and Maureen Wheeler established Lonely Planet Publications in the basement of a terrace house in Sydney in 1973, to self-publish a modest travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Going boldly where no other travel publisher had ventured, their aim was to cater for a new generation of independent, budget-conscious travellers long before the advent of mass tourism. From these humble beginnings the company has grown into an international publisher with more than 400 employees, 250 writers, offices on three continents, more than 600 titles in print and annual sales of over six million books. A unique mix of autobiography, corporate history and travel book, The Lonely Planet Story traces the Wheelers' personal story as well as the development of their extraordinary successful business. It offers fascinating insights into some of the beautiful and bizarre places they have visited - with a spirit of adventure that has made them, according to New York Daily News, 'the specialists in guiding weird folks to weird places'.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Asia Overland; South-East Asia; Getting Going, Going Broke; Near Disaster; More Headaches; Quiet for a Spell; First Europe, then America; All About Guidebooks; All the Trouble in the World; Other Activities; Not Always the Good Guys; The Highs, the Lows; September 11 and All that; Where to Now?