The ''South American Handbook'' is a travel guide to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, published in the United Kingdom by

Footprint Books Footprint Travel Guides is the imprint of Footprint Handbooks Ltd, a publisher of guidebooks based in Bath in the United Kingdom. Particularly noted for their coverage of Latin America, their ''South American Handbook'', first published in 1924, ...

. It is the longest-running travel guide in the English language. In 2010 it was chosen as the Best South American Handbook by ''Sounds and Colours''.

History

The handbook was first published in 1921 as the ''Anglo-South American Handbook''. It was founded and compiled by

William Henry Koebel William Henry Koebel (1872–1923) was an English author and businessman. He is best remembered today for his books on trade and travel within Portugal (and Madeira)., the Caribbean, Central America and South America. His books continue to be stud ...

(1872-1923), a prolific author who had a particular interest in promoting trade with South America. It was compiled as a guide to South America, as well as Mexico and Cuba, for the business traveller, and published by the

Federation of British Industry The Federation of British Industries (FBI) was an employers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by the Midlands industrialist Dudley Docker in 1916 as the United British Industries' Association, but renamed later that same year, it was ini ...

. Two editions later the book was 'privatised' and in 1924 it became the ''South American Handbook'', published by Trade and Travel Publications Ltd, a

Royal Mail Steam Packet Company The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a British shipping company founded in London in 1839 by a Scot, James MacQueen. The line's motto was ''Per Mare Ubique'' (everywhere by sea). After a troubled start, it became the largest shipping group ...

subsidiary incorporated in December 1922.Companies House Webcheck
Company number 186564 At the time, travel was by sea and the handbook gave all the details needed for the long voyage from Europe, including a full account of the journey from Liverpool up the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

Manaus Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...

, some 5,898 miles without changing cabin. It also imparted such invaluable etiquette advice as to 'pack a good saddle and a set of starched collars'. From about the 1930s the Mendip Press of

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

printed the book. Early in the 1970s Royal Mail Lines sold Trade and Travel Publications to the Mendip Press's parent company, Dawson and Goodall Ltd. The handbook continued to be published annually and received updates from readers, including figures such as

Paul Theroux Paul Edward Theroux (born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue, '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films. He ...

and the novelist

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

, who addressed his updates to 'The publishers of the best travel guide in the world, Bath, England'. Over the years the handbook expanded its coverage to include all the countries of South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. It continued to include data for businessmen, but by the 1970s was increasingly aimed at leisure travellers, particularly backpackers following the

Gringo Trail The Gringo Trail refers to a string of the places most often visited''The Gringo Trail'', Mark Manat Amazon/ref> by "gringos", Canadians, Americans, other budget travelers, vice tourists, backpackers, Anglo-European, Dutch, German heritage foreigner ...

. In 1989 the 65th edition was almost 1,400 pages long. In 1990 the handbook was split. The ''Mexico & Central America Handbook'' and the ''Caribbean Islands Handbook'' were published as separate volumes, and from then on the ''South American Handbook'' covered only South America. Trade and Travel Publications changed its name to Footprint Handbooks Ltd in August 1996.

The ''Handbook'' today

The ''South American Handbook'' 2018 (94th edition) contains 1,824 pages. It is edited by Ben Box, who has written for the handbook since 1980, as editor since 1989.

References

External links

* {{cite book , editor-last=Koebel , editor-first=WH , year=1921 , title=Anglo-South American Handbook , place=New York , publisher=

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

, url= http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001972348 (full text ''via'' HathiTrust)
Footprint Travel Guides website: ''South American Handbook''
Books about South America Travel guide books 1921 non-fiction books Annual publications British travel books English non-fiction books