Arthur Frommer died last week at the grand old age of 95. We never met, not even once, but it remains my fervent conviction — absent hyperbole or exaggeration — that Frommer changed my life.
(True, the beer writer Michael Jackson also altered the course of my existence, but I was fortunate to have a few actual conversations, and beers, with him.)
Jackson’s book The World Guide to Beer kickstarted my interest in beer and brewing. Frommer’s Europe on $25 a Day sent me to the places where beer remained at its best during the formative period of my twenties, when American beer was struggling to recover from decades of abuse.
To me both these books are sacred texts.
Pauline Frommer reported her father’s passing at their website (cover photo credit). He conceived the notion of counseling travelers while stationed in Europe during the late 1950s, and continued working well into his 90s, such that for the longest time I was able to raise a toast to Frommer’s health upon returning to Europe.
Henceforth, each time back I’ll drink to his memory. I cannot thank him enough.
It is with deep sadness that I announce my father, Arthur Frommer, founder of the Frommer’s guidebooks...Read more
