JOHN THOMPSON has written or contributed to more than a dozen titles for National Geographic Books, including Wildlands of the Upper South and America's Western Edge.
RICHARD NOWITZ was a contract photographer for National Geographic World (now Kids) magazine and is a contributing photographer to the National Geographic Image Collection. He has been the principal photographer of more than 20 large-format photo and travel guides and in 1968 was honored by the Society of American Travel Writers as Travel Photographer of the Year.
DIANA PARSELL and JENNY ROUGH updated the 2011 edition and contributed many sidebars. Parsell also wrote "Charting Your Trip."