And the Rickniks Shall Inherit the Earth

Bruce Newman profiles guidebook mogul Rick Steves in the September issue of Via. What makes Steves stand out in a saturated marketplace? It just might be because he has personality. Yes, personality. “In the last generation there were Fodor, Fielding, Frommer, and Birnbaum—four famous guys,” says Steves. “Now publishers hire these anonymous craftspeople to write their books, and editors take out all the personal references, so you don’t even know if it’s a man or a woman writing.” He, on the other hand, still does much of his own reporting and writing, and his devoted followers—“Rickniks”—love him for it.

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