John Wilcock: Writing the 1961 Book 'Mexico on 5 Dollars a Day' boingboing
go to original June 15, 2014

In 1961, John Wilcock wrote a travel guide for visiting Mexico on a budget, resulting in a bestselling book that became a significant part of 1960s vagabond culture. A comic by Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall.

Note: The original "Five Dollars a Day" concept was coined by Arthur Frommer (John's Editor).

In a recent interview, Frommer recalls hiring John for the Mexico assignment:

"I had grown to know a young man named John Wilcock, who was an editor of the Village Voice. A very well-known and excellent writer, who was desperate to travel to Mexico and write a guidebook, and I funded his trip there and published "Mexico on Five Dollars a Day."

As indicated in the comic, The Hospitality Exchange is still around with an active membership. Want to travel or host a traveler?

From its website:

The Hospitality Exchange is an online traveler's directory of friendly, travel-loving people who offer each other the gift of hospitality in their homes. Members like to travel, be hosted by other members, and, in turn, host traveling members themselves. Each directory listing provides details on that member's interests and the hospitality they can provide. We are not like the huge internet groups that have come into being in recent years; but our group seems to be more conducive to forming long term friendships - our members stay with us for many years.

Read the rest at boingboing.net

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