David Stanley has spent much of the past three decades on the road. He has crossed six continents overland and visited 202 of the planet's 245 countries and territories. His travel guidebooks to the South Pacific, Micronesia, Alaska, Eastern Europe, and Cuba opened those areas to budget travelers for the first time.
For his first trip across the Pacific in 1978, Stanley bought the longest ticket ever issued in Canada by Pan American Airways. Since then he has returned many times, visiting and revisiting the islands. His career as a travel writer began with the letters he wrote to Bill Dalton and Tony Wheeler, the pioneers of budget travel to Asia in the 1970s. That feedback soon led to guides of his own.
Stanley researched and wrote all seven editions of
Moon Handbooks South Pacific. Moon Handbooks Fiji, now in its seventh edition, appeared in 1985. In 1989, he keyed in the first
Moon Handbooks Tahiti, now its fifth edition.
Moon Handbooks Tonga-Samoa was published in 1999. He also wrote early editions of
Moon Handbooks Micronesia and
Moon Handbooks Alaska-Yukon. With over a million copies sold, he's still on the road writing guidebooks. Though Stanley has traveled widely and become a specialist on many parts of the world, he always keeps returning to his favorite area, the South Pacific.
This author focuses on individual budget travel, including in his guides virtually all accommodations, public transportation by air, road, and sea, sports and recreation, entertainment, food, culture, and anything unexpected. Stanley has often been praised for his informative, sensitive, and readable style. With a deep regard for island ecologies and cultures, his writing sometimes raises hackles with its frank and thought-provoking observations on the impact of first-world consumerism on developing countries. He discussed "ecotourism" and "responsible" tourism in his books long before those terms became fashionable.
The Journal of the Polynesian Society, CoEvolution Quarterly, Asia and Pacific Viewpoint, Islander Magazine, Guam & Micronesia Glimpses, Transitions Abroad, Tok Blong Pasifik, Rapa Nui Journal, Pacific Research, and others have all reviewed Stanley's books favorably.
Pacific Magazine called
Moon Handbooks South Pacific " … a masterpiece of comprehensiveness and erudite clarity… ." The third edition of the South Pacific guide was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Guide Book Awards in 1986, and in 1990,
Moon Handbooks Tahiti was the winner in the Guidebook category of the first annual Travel Publishing Awards sponsored by Winterbourne Press. All of his Pacific books have been published in German translations.
Until 1985,
Moon Handbooks South Pacific was the only practical travel guide to the Pacific islands—many others have followed in its footsteps. Over the years, Stanley has been a frequent visitor to the main islands of Polynesia and Melanesia, and on each subsequent trip he tries to reach some of the remoter places missed on previous journeys. While doing his field research, he prefers to arrive unexpected and uninvited, without accepting the hospitality of airlines, tour companies, visitors bureaus, hotel chains, dive shops, or anyone else. As he sees it, his first responsibility is to his readers. Stanley's books have informed a generation of budget travelers.
One of the biggest treats for a guidebook writer is meeting people actually using the book. David researches his books incognito and the "mystery shopper" approach means he can't always admit who he is, but it's still fun hearing what unsuspecting readers think of the book. David Stanley's personal website, www.southpacific.org, provides contact details.
» Author’s Website
