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| Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism | 
 enlarge | Author: Thomas Kohnstamm
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $7.69
You Save: $6.26 (45%)
New (36) Used (20) from $5.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 26874
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0307394654
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.4092
EAN: 9780307394651
ASIN: 0307394654
Publication Date: April 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: 100% Brand New! - Ships Today! Identical to Amazon's book in every way. Flawless! Not a cheap Remainder or Book Club Copy! *We recommend Expedited Shipping option for much faster mail delivery
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| Customer Reviews:
 I couldn't put it down! May 2, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
That being said, I gave it 4 stars because of the endless stories about drugs, sex and alcohol - they grew old after awhile. Although, every time I thought to myself enough was enough I kept coming back to the subtitle. The author lays it bare from the beginning - you don't even have to open the book. Despite this one little hangup that I had, I blew through the book in 2 days. If you have even a passing interest in traveling, travel writing and/or Brazil you will probably like this book. I can easily see why guide book publishers are up in arms over it's contents, but frankly I'm not a guide book publisher and all of the author's misgivings about their "contributions" to the travel industry are spot on as well as his thoughts about the general state of the travel industry as a whole. (I'm not slamming guide books, but you can't ignore the truth in what the author is saying either).
This was definitely a refreshing find in a genera that doesn't see nearly enough new additions in a given year.
Steer clear if you're the type of traveler that likes tourist traps and trinket stores!
 Doesn't quite deliver June 11, 2008
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
I picked this book up hoping for an insight into the travel guidebook world. What better way than through the first-hand experiences of a Lonely Planet writer?
Ultimately it was disappointing. The main point, that the editors demand the impossible of their writers, who either try to deliver it (and burn out) or sell out (becoming successful guidebook writers).
At first it's easy to be sympathetic to the author, Kohnstamm, who didn't seem to know what he was getting into. But I gained more sympathy for his editors as the book unfolds. While covering much of Brazil in two months may be an impossible task, Kohnstamm seemed as much to blame as anyone. For example, he rents a room in a house (for nearly a month I think) rather than staying in the hostels and hotels that he complains there is no time to properly check out.
But no matter, the game is stacked against him, so the only honorable solution is to tell his editors that he can't in good conscience write a highly flawed guidebook- no, that didn't cross his mind; the only solution is to accept hotel and bar freebies to finance his trip.
Fair enough, I picked the book up because it looked like an honest account of a sometimes dishonest industry. I wasn't looking for an ethical how-to guide.
But what was infuriating was that even by the last page (and I'm not giving anything away here), he seems to truly believe he stayed mostly ethical. He says something like, "I will not give a restaurant a good review just because they gave me a free plate of pasta." But since he announces himself in advance to the staff of restaurants and hotels, it would be naive to think they didn't give him exceptional service, and naive to think the average traveler will get the same.
He did share some interesting tidbits about how the sausage is made, but the bulk of Do Travel Writers Go To Hell was sometimes-remarkable, often-ordinary travel experiences that give more insight into the 20-something male traveler rather than the travel writer. Admittedly, armchair travelers may find it enjoyable.
But I wondered, how much of the time that Kohnstamm could have been visiting hotels and restaurants was spent taking notes for the book he would write about how little time there was to visit enough hotels and restaurants?
And if he didn't take detailed notes for this book, is it even as accurate as his compromised guidebook?
 More than insight to guide book writing April 22, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
"Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?" goes beyond the unglamorous realities of guide book writing and entertaining stories of travel misadventures. The author unapologetically exposes the mind of the 20-someting American male in search of authentic experiences beyond the predetermined path of secure job 9 to 5 monotony. As well, the reader is exposed to the limited choices available to the Brazilian characters that are struggling for survival and their own authenticity in the face of the overwhelming 'tourist trail' created by guidebooks.
This is a page turner that is at once hilarious, ironic and introspective.
Great April 29, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
If i would have listened to all of the Lonely Planet people trying to protect their reputations, and all of the hype in the articles about the book, I probably would not have purchased it. It sounded to interesting though, so I did. It was worth it. The book is entertaining the entire way and filled with characters that may remind you of friends, acquaintances, and some people you hope to never meet. It is the first person story of a man that does what many wish they could do: Leave everything behind and pursue adventure and the unknown. It is an unyielding view of what a travel writer faces, good and bad. It puts what many consider a dream job into perspective.
Something for everyone! May 21, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I love this book. From the second I picked it up, to the second I put it down, I was thoroughly captivated. At many times, I found myself laughing out loud, reading the same passage over again, just because it was so GOOD! The brash truthfulness, the extreme comedy, the lovable characters, all help to make this a very enjoyable read. An adventure at it's heart, but so much more, a man coming to grips with himself, an industry, a country. I think there's something for everyone in this book. I highly recommend it!
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