Fodor's

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Fodor's (pronounced /ˈfoʊdɚz/) is the world's largest publisher of English language travel and tourism information, and the first relatively professional producer of travel guidebooks. Fodor's Travel and Fodors.com are divisions of Random House, Inc.

[edit] History

Founder, Hungarian Eugene Fodor was a keen traveler, but felt that the guidebooks of his time were boring, uninspired collections of quickly outdated facts and figures. He decided to address these shortcomings and wrote a guide to Europe, On the Continent—The Entertaining Travel Annual, which was published in 1936.

Going beyond the usual lists of hotels and attractions, the book was updated yearly and gave practical guidance, such as tipping advice, alongside information about the local people and culture. For example, in the introduction, Fodor wrote "Rome contains not only magnificent monuments, but also Italians."

The pioneering book was a success in England and the United States. Fodor's Modern Guides, Inc. was founded in 1949 in Paris, France. The company was sold to Random House in 1986.

In 1996, Fodor's launched a travel-related website, Fodors.com, which was nominated for a Webby Award in 2004. Today, Fodor's has published more than 440 guides (in 14 series) on over 300 destinations, and has more than 700 permanently placed researchers all over the world.

In 2006 the company produced a guide to The Da Vinci Code, a mix of travel guide and insight into the book.

[edit] External links

• Fodors.com, official site.
• 1989 audio interview with Michael Spring about the origin of the Fodor name by Don Swaim at Wired for Books.

[edit] References

• About Us. Fodors.com. Retrieved on October 28, 2005.
• Random House Information Group. RandomHouse.com. Retrieved on October 28, 2005.
• Eugene Fodor. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved on November 1, 2005.