Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism

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Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism

by Thomas Kohnstamm (Goodreads Author)

3.09 of 5 stars 3.09 · rating details · 808 ratings · 167 reviews

For those who think that travel guidebooks are the gospel truth.

WANTED: Travel Writer for Brazil
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED
Decisiveness: the ability to desert your entire previous life–including well-salaried office job, attractive girlfriend, and basic sanity for less than minimum wage
Attention to detail: the skill to research northeastern Brazil, including transportation,...more

Paperback, 272 pages

Published April 22nd 2008 by Broadway (first published January 1st 2008)

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Aug 20, 2008 Michael rated it 1 of 5 stars

Seattle author. Seems from blurb like an interesting perspective - we'll see!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK, I bought this at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, one of my favorite Seattle area bookstores. The kid who wrote it is a Seattle author and I like to occasionally buy something obscure somewhat on impulse from local authors.

After I looked at some of the other Goodreads reviews, I realized that I'm not exactly the target demographic for his readers - I'm about 25 years too old - although I'm mal...more

7 likes · like · see review

May 25, 2008 PastAllReason rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2008, travel, time-i-ll-never-have-back

Do travel writers go to hell? This one may. Narcisstic and self-indulgent, and that's just the book.

What would be an interesting topic for travellers who have relied on travel guides in the past is instead treated to a mess of a book that only peripherally deals with the writing of travel guides. If the reader looks hard enough it can be found in small doses amidst lengthy expositions of the writer's tawdry life playing with drug dealing and sleeping with prostitutes.

5 likes · like · see review

Jun 23, 2008 Cathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I haven't read anything this trashy since I'm With the Band!

He spends most of his time in Brazil drunk or stoned. He sleeps with any girl that moves. (Oh wait, he only makes out with the 15-year-old.) He's a Sagittarius! I alternately loathe him and love him.

Do I believe half of what he says? No.
Yet, I couldn't put the book down and I am ashamed of myself.

One thing I know for sure? He's never writing travel books again.

5 likes · like · see review

Oct 28, 2012 Tim rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book probably wouldn't have found a publisher if not for its hook as an titillating expose of the travel writing industry. Which is a shame, because the book is hilarious and very well written. It seems that the scandal has been oversold, because except for a somewhat hurried "I made up some stuff" epilogue, the actual descriptions of how he survived as a travel writer on a subsistence wage mostly reads as quite reasonable. It also seems that Lonely Planet was ultimately happy with his work...more

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 30, 2008 Adele rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book sucked. Thomas Kohnstamm is basically a chauvinistic, narcissistic asshole who somehow convinced Lonely Planet to pay him to write about Brazil. Poorly. Then, he exploits them in this hey-I'm-only-35-but-whatever-I-can-write-a-tell-all memoir, and they give him more money to go write about Chile. OK, yes, I'm totally jealous that I'm not a Lonely Planet guidebook writer too, but even if I were I would still detest Thomas Kohnstamm. Anyone can go abroad and have crazy, unexpected experi...more

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Jun 21, 2008 Bode Wilson rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: horny frat guys, I guess.

Christ, what a mess. Thoroughly unlikeable narrator, seems to look to some giant chip on his shoulder for inspiration. None of his exploits sound remotely appealing or entertaining. Saved somewhat by a running discussion of the effects that travel guides have on the places featured within them, a point usually undercut by the author's sophomoric rantings.

4 likes · like · see review

Dec 04, 2008 Osho rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008

Kohnstamm's memoir is not so much about writing his first guidebook for Lonely Planet as it is a self-congratulatory screed lauding substance abuse, poor choices, dubious sexual encounters, and generally unpleasant behavior. Kohnstamm seems to think he's charming and attractive, yet there's little in his self-description to inclines the reader in that direction. I was willing to hold my distaste in abeyance until he sold drugs to supplement his income, at which point I read more from determinati...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 28, 2010 Aimee rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel-writing, wasteoftime

This book had promise: it offered a peek behind the curtain of what really goes on in researching and writing a Lonely Planet (LP) guide. LP’s mantra for getting travelers “off the beaten track” (and thus promising a unique experience) has made these guide books a Holy Grail of independent travel for seasoned and wannabee travelers alike. Kohnstamm’s misadventures illustrate that you can’t believe everything you read, and the LP guides are just that—guides, not gospel (it’s disturbing in practic...more

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Apr 29, 2008 Wendy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Naturally, it's difficult to be objective about this book given the anticipatory grief it caused me and my closeness to the subject. It's tempting to engage in a close reading of the book, seeking - and finding - errors in presentation of facts, even more errors in judgment and, most of all, many errors of omission.

As a memoir: eh. Typical, but fairly sloppy lowbrow lad lit. I’m not particularly interested in or impressed by TK’s prodigious partying and substance abuse and his constant skirt-cha...more

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Jul 01, 2008 Philip rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: cynics who think it's all rigged, people who like sex and drugs

Shelves: memoirs, non-fiction

I didn't get much from this book except that Tommy did a lot of drugs and had a lot of sex while he was supposed to be writing for Lonely Planet. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the book, it just wasn't what I expected.

I also wonder how much of his inspiration comes from his travels, and how much inspiration comes from Jayson Blair or James Frey. I mean, the Author's Note even says, "...it was necessary to omit certain events, rearrange and compress chronology, and combine a few of the characters....more

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Jun 16, 2012 Kaitlyn Barrett rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel-related

He says in the preface that he’s not a “resentful burnout trying to settle a score” but this book chronicles his first job writing for Lonely Planet and he has nothing good to say about the company, the editors, their methods or their reliability as travel guides. Any reader who hasn’t bought a Lonely Planet guidebook before they read this book would surely not buy one after they read it. Kohnstamm portrays LP writers as overworked alcoholic hacks on the grift who make up reviews and contribute...more

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Oct 04, 2011 Christoph Rehage rated it 3 of 5 stars

First of all, I am unhappy I only got a German copy of this book. Reading translated literature only makes sense if the original is too difficult. This one certainly shouldn’t have been:

Author: Thomas Kohnstamm
Title: Do Travel Writers Go To Hell
Time: some time around 2004
Destination:
Brazil
Length: about 2 months
Type: overland
Rating: 5/10
Mediocre gonzo

The story: TK, a wall street guy in his twenties, accepts a new job offer: to write a travel guide about Brazil, for a popular guide book called The...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel

Another one of the free books from the awesome pile! I have been wanting to read this book since I heard about it. I mean, look at the title! It's perfect! This book was an okay read. I makes you think twice about "The Bible" as Lonely Planet is known as on the road. Which is why I don't read it. Anyway, this guy is American, but is interested in S. America, so he wrote a LAS guide which Lonely Planet published when he was in college, so when it came time to update the Brazil (cause they speak L...more

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Apr 19, 2010 Andrew Hecht rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who has ever traveled or will travel with a guide book

Shelves: have-passport-will-travel, must-read, non-fiction, the-open-road

"AS they say, two of the most important attributes for a travel writer are a strong liver and a good ability to bullshit."

If you've ever traveled with a guide book, particularly the Lonely Planet, this should be required reading. Kohnstamm details how he chucked in his life as a "legal researcher", giving up his job, his apartment and his girlfriend amongst other things to pursue a career as a guidebook travel writer.

His account reveals how he was massively unprepared for the daunting task of g...more

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Dec 27, 2009 Ash Bruxvoort rated it 2 of 5 stars

Thomas Kohnstamm's travel book Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonismwas published in 2008 and raised some questions about the ethics of Lonely Planet guidebooks and some questions about Kohnstamm himself. You can read more about that here because honestly I'm not going to waste a lot of time on this book.

Kohnstamm quit his life, his girlfriend, his office job, all because of an author to write a Lonely Planet guide...more

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Oct 04, 2009 Martine rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson

Shelves: blokey-books, disappointing, memoirs, non-fiction, travel-writing, north-american

Every once in a while when I return from a holiday, I fantasise about becoming a travel writer-cum-photographer. At the risk of sounding like an insufferable show-off here, I think I've earned my dues in the travel world. I've visited 36 countries in five continents, including a few stints as a tour guide in China. I speak my languages, have a fairly strong stomach, can deal with grotty hotels as long as they're not too noisy, and am both a decent writer and a decent photographer, a combination...more Every once in a while when I return from a holiday, I fantasise about becoming a travel writer-cum-photographer. At the risk of sounding like an insufferable show-off here, I think I've earned my dues in the travel world. I've visited 36 countries in five continents, including a few stints as a tour guide in China. I speak my languages, have a fairly strong stomach, can deal with grotty hotels as long as they're not too noisy, and am both a decent writer and a decent photographer, a combination which I think might be of some interest to publishers of guidebooks and travel magazines. Needless to say, I occasionally dream of becoming a Lonely Planet writer, so you can imagine how eagerly I snapped up Thomas Kohnstamm's Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?, a tell-all tale of the author's first tour of duty as a Lonely Planet researcher in Brazil. It seemed the ideal book for me -- a book about a guy who had the job I want, although I fully expected him to tell me it wasn't a dream job at all.

What I didn't realise when I bought the book was that Kohnstamm was the guy who seriously embarrassed Lonely Planet last year when he admitted in an interview to plagiarising whole sections of his LP guidebooks and writing about places he had never even visited, forcing Lonely Planet to embark on a major revision of the books and chapters he had written in an effort to control the damage done by his widely publicised interview. Clearly, Lonely Planet takes its credibility seriously. However, I suspect that Kohnstamm's modus operandi is rather more common among guidebook researchers than LP wishes to acknowledge, judging from the number of times I've visited hotels recommended by LP only to find that they had been closed for years...

Anyhow, being a travel junkie and aspiring Lonely Planet writer myself, I had high expectations for Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?. Unfortunately, it turned out that the author and I were a bad match. Kohnstamm, you see, is the kind of traveller I loathe -- the kind of backpacker who only seems to travel to get drunk, stoned and laid (usually in that order), who only goes to Cambodia to find one-dollar bags of weed, visits Northern Thailand and Northern Laos to smoke opium with the hill tribes, spends most of his time in India comparing the relative effects of ganja and bhang lassis, and, when told that I'm from Holland, will say with glazed-over eyes, 'Holland, eh? I've been to Amsterdam. I love Amsterdam,' only to answer my 'Really? Whereabouts in Amsterdam have you been?' with a shrug and a non-committal 'Can't remember. I was stoned all the time.' I've met too many guys like that, and at the risk of sounding like a goody two-shoes, they annoy me. I'm not sure whether that's because I'm secretly envious of their freewheeling ways or rather because I'm genuinely repulsed by their attempts to be cool and 'out there', but either way, I find them annoying. I guess I'm old-fashioned that way.

Sadly, Thomas Kohnstamm is the very stereotype of the dreaded sex-and-drugs-and-rock-'n'-roll tourist, something I didn't realise when I bought his book because the blurb conveniently failed to mention it (although in retrospect, the subtitle, 'A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventure, Questionable Ethics and Professional Hedonism', should have been a bit of a give-away). Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? reads like a modern update of a Jack Kerouac or Hunter S. Thompson novel. Its first chapters contain so many references to sex, masturbation and binge-induced vomiting that I actually found it quite off-putting. The rest of the book is marginally better, but still, I don't think I'm wide of the mark when I say that one third of the narrative is about the drugs and alcohol the author ingests in Brazil, another third is about the women he beds (all gorgeous, obviously), and the remaining third is roughly divided between his attempts to sell ecstasy to fund the remainder of his trip (...) and his repeated vows to change his lifestyle and focus on the job at hand, only to be dragged to yet another booze-fuelled party half a page later. I'm sure this description sounds fabulous to people who like their travelogues Kerouac-style, but to my judgemental self, it got very tedious after a while. After just a few chapters of Kohnstamm's immature behaviour, I found myself wanting to read more about Brazil and its attractions, and less about the fuckheads with whom the author hung out during his trip (although I do admit that he drew those fuckheads very well). Kohnstamm's repeated assurances that he was basically doing an undoable job because Lonely Planet's deadlines are ridiculous and the pay is not nearly generous enough to cover all the expenses quickly began to grate on me, especially in the light of the long nights he apparently spent drinking and the long mornings he supposedly spent sleeping off his hangovers. I found myself increasingly annoyed with his constant excuses for not doing his job properly and with the weird decisions he kept making, such as staying in a flat for two weeks to have sex with a pretty prostitute when he was supposed to be researching hotels. So I guess you could say Kohnstamm wasn't the right author for me, nor I his intended audience. He's too much of a Hunter S. Thompson wannabe for me, and I'm not enough of a sleaze-loving frat boy to appreciate that kind of thing. I guess we were both to blame for the mismatch.

It's a pity Kohnstamm is such a shallow, self-congratulatory arsehole, because I suspect he's a decent writer underneath all the bluff and bravura. He has an engaging writing style, a decent sense of humour and a good ear for dialogue. Furthermore, he obviously has a brain on him, albeit an alcohol-addled one, and judging from some of the more outrageous descriptions in the book, he also has a lively imagination. When he is not bragging, whining, breaking half a dozen laws or generally being obnoxious, he actually makes some astute observations about travelling, guidebooks and being a guidebook contributor. He has insightful ideas on Lonely Planet users like myself (sheep who like to think of themselves as intrepid travellers but all end up doing exactly the same things), the way Lonely Planet has changed (and in some cases ruined) tourism in certain places, and the way Lonely Planet has sold out over the last fifteen years, a fact to which anyone who owns an LP guidebook from before the year 2000 can attest. He also provides some good insight into the compromised nature of travel writing, which tallies with my own experiences as a tour guide in China. Sadly, though, these observations are lost amidst increasingly repetitive tales of drunken debaucheries and sexual exploits. I'm sure the latter will appeal to many readers (judging from the staggering number of five-star reviews the book has received on Amazon USA, there is definitely a market for this sort of thing), but again, I would have preferred a less sleazy write-up of Kohnstamm's experiences in Brazil, one which told me more about travelling in Brazil and the job of being a travel writer and less about Thomas Kohnstamm's propensity to get himself into trouble. Call me holier than thou, call me a jealous wannabe travel writer, but really, this book could have been better, both as a travelogue and as a travel industry exposé.

2.5 stars, rounded down to two because I'm in an ungenerous mood.
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Nov 13, 2008 Elizabeth rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm sorry to say that I did not enjoy this rather indulgent take on Thomas' bad boy travails barely writing a Lonely Planet guide book in Brazil. Found it a 2nd-rate Hunter S. Thompson meets wanna-be Kerouac (both of whom I don't care for but can see some amusement in for mostly young wastrel men in their perma-adolescence). I grew quite bored and turned-off by the author's unsavory drug and sex misadventures with sad and dissipated ex-pats and desperate Brazilians.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 07, 2009 Monica rated it 3 of 5 stars

This must be the year for travel writers' exposes. First, I read Chuck Thompson's "Smile When You're Lying: Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer," and now I've read Kohnstamm's account. I must say I recommend Thompson's book over this one, although I enjoyed "Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?" as well.

Kohntstamm was working as a paralegal for a New York law firm, when, after an upbraiding by his boss while working late one night, he walks off the job, to become a travel writer for Lonely Planet cov...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Lee rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

Was excited about this book since I've done a fair amount of independent traveling relying on Lonely Planet for maps, buses and hostel info and maybe a restaurant review. The beginning is about a guy who decides to quit his high stress typical New Yorker job and go on a bender wasting his money until he hops on a plane to Brazil to write for Lonely Planet. His adventures are rather typical for traveling - drug temptations, lonely and loose singles, and lots of booze. What really frustrated me ab...more

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Mar 20, 2012 James rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

This is not travel literature. It's the exaggerated, if not untrue, exposée of a first-time Lonely Planet author. We get far more information about the impact this irresponsible underachiever's bad decision-making and poor finances have on his psyche for several months than insight into Brazil or its people. For someone professing to admire travel literature, Kohnstamm seems to have utterly missed the point (if producing a work of travel writing was even his aim in the first place). Guidebook wr...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Tonia rated it 3 of 5 stars

To all people who want to be a travel writer: this will broaden the knowledge you have of what this work may hold for you. With Lonely Planet and its professional cohorts the budgets are smaller than you might think, the deadlines arrive sooner than you thought, and rather than enjoying a beach, restaurant, cathedral or art gallery you may be busy gathering data. This data may include open and closing hours, costs of entrance, what type of travellers visit this place, and food menus. Thomas Kohn...more To all people who want to be a travel writer: this will broaden the knowledge you have of what this work may hold for you. With Lonely Planet and its professional cohorts the budgets are smaller than you might think, the deadlines arrive sooner than you thought, and rather than enjoying a beach, restaurant, cathedral or art gallery you may be busy gathering data. This data may include open and closing hours, costs of entrance, what type of travellers visit this place, and food menus. Thomas Kohnstamm plays by the book and does not take freebees at the beginning of his trip. Then his budget runs out and he must create means of raising funds to complete his trip and writings of Brazil, including finding and taking any freebees possible. The mayhem he finds himself in is astounding and the way he able to deal with the issues is equally hilarious....well, at times scary with the black eyes to prove his travel struggles. Despite his struggles and frustration with Lonely Planet, he continues to travel and write for this organization. He is a nomad at heart and can not lose his thirst for movement around the world. He is an entertaining and funny writer who uses approachable language. Check out this book and his written works for Lonely Planet for stories that will make you laugh, gawk in shock, and shake your head in surprise.

Best parts of the book:

This book is not intended to be an expose and it is not intended to discourage the purchase of use of travel guidebooks. I almost always take a guidebook with me when I travel, and it invariably helps me in some way that makes it worth its price and worth its weight in my pack. It is my hope that this book will help to demystify the origins of travel writing and show that when thousands of travellers follow a guidebook word-for-word, recommendation-for-recommendation, in not only harms contemporary international travel but can also do serious harm to places in developing countries. Maybe if people see what arbitrary bullshit goes into the making of a guidebook, they will realize that it is just a loose tool to give basic information and is not singular or necessarily the correct way to approach a destination. p. 3

So, travel writing, like any job, has its issues. However, travel writing is particularly disorienting since you are expected to work in a tourist environment that is built for pleasure. You must find a way to make yourself effective in that peculiar limbo between work and play.....We travel writers live in perpetual motion. Relationahips are transitory and fleeting. Friendships, even more so. Home is where you are on a given night. It is at once glamorous and pathetic, exciting and perversely routine. The longer you do it, the harder it is to return to normal life, and one day you wake up and realize that the road is your permanent address. There's no going back. p. 3-4

The majority of travel book fall into three basic groups: 1. There are the earnest writers who become enlightened through contact with the simple, honest live of Mexican peasants or the unparalleled tranquility of the Tuscan countryside. A more holistic approach to life is discovered and the universe is balanced....2. On the opposite side of the spectrum are the smug writers who mock how backward plumbing and transportation are anywhere outside of North America....3. Last but no least are the Charlie Bronson guys who attempt solo ascent of mouton without telling anyone where they're going, are forced to amputate their appendages with a sport, and then expect us to appreciate their triumph of human spirit. p. 54

"Parachute Artist" is a name given to a certain type of travel writer, particularly itinerant guidebook writers. Tony Wheeler, the founder of Lonely Planet, defines a parachute artist as "someone who can drop into a place and quickly assimilate, who can write about anywhere." You must be able to wake up in Thai Hill Country, Kaliningrad, the Ganges Delta...or Port Moresby and quickly wrap your head around the place. You must determine its character and capture the so-called zeitgeist in a way that can be explained in a 300-word section introduction and 250-word city and regional introductions - even if you've never set foot on that continent before. You must find the best accommodations, activities, restaurants, and practicalities; write pseudosagacious, balanced reviews on all of them; and then flip the channel to the next destination and do the same thing all over again. Efficiency is of the essence. p. 73
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Jun 29, 2009 Jan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I got the impression of the author as a hard-edged embellisher, the kind who would gather a crowd at a bar telling stories about his exploits in exotic locations, garnering plenty of attention but ultimately not much sympathy. This is an account of the author's first time writing for Lonely Planet guides, and it starts off as a bitter rumination on the life he left behind in New York: dead-end job, long-suffering girlfriend, and degenerate best friend who seems to have been cut out of one of Hun...more

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Oct 31, 2012 JDK1962 rated it 2 of 5 stars

I know why I started this book: a cube dweller becomes a travel writer, and his first project is northeastern Brazil. I grew up Brazil, so all this sounded good.

Unfortunately, it was a bit like reading what would happen if Tucker Max decided to become a travel writer. He gets his dream job, then the first couple of chapters are f---ing off in New York City, then flying to Rio and f---ing off there, blowing through most of the advance.

What I learned from this book is to take guidebooks--especiall...more

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Jun 08, 2008 Karin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sure, Kohnstamm's writing confirms my suspicions that he's kind of a dick. And sure, there's less actual travel writing and more drug fueled stream of conscious in between these covers.

But it entertained me on my flight home from Seattle so I can't fault the book for that.

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May 10, 2009 Jon rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People that love life

Recommended to Jon by: Thank you Scotty

Shelves: read-2009

Undoubtably the best travel book I have ever read! The frankness and honesty about the author's experiences had me in stitches, and I did not want to put the book down. If a person is not offended by explicit talk of drug use and sex (often both at the same time) then they should read this immedeatly. It is also a scathing review of the travel guide industry. After finishing it, I had to restrain myself from running out and quiting my job to travel the "gringo trail"!!!
Reading other peoples' r...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Sonia Almeida rated it 2 of 5 stars

The book promised a lot regarding the life and times of Lonely Planet travel writters, but in the end we just get an account of how he struggled to review the brasilian book, because of his difficult choices between working hard, or partying hard with lots of drink, women and drugs. Do all LP writers function like that? I really don't care.
And it also shows the ever present dicotomy between "real travellers" (the backpackers), and all the others that don't know what it is reall travelling becau...more

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Jun 23, 2012 DW rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel

To answer the title question, yes. If the author wants to make the point that Lonely Planet doesn't pay its writers enough to do unbiased research, he undermines his point by detailing how he blows his money on booze and drugs. If he hadn't started out the book with a description of getting drunk and high and being a public disturbance before he leaves NYC for Brazil, he might have been slightly sympathetic ... until he started selling drugs.

I just hope all Lonely Planet writers aren't like him...more

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Apr 23, 2009 Unwisely rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: travelogue, non-fiction, 2009

OK, so, this book wasn't what I expected. I sort of thought he would talk about a lot of different stuff, but mostly he talks about his one trip through Brazil as a writer for Lonely Planet, plus some before and after of his life in NYC. Which, don't get me wrong, was pretty entertaining, it's just not what I thought I was getting.

Having said that, I enjoyed it. Once upon a time I studied abroad (several times), and the descriptions of the hostel people, the impact of his work, and the whole ba...more

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Nov 30, 2008 Holly Burns rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Holly by: Kristin Luna

I thought for sure I wouldn't like Thomas Kohnstamm, the author of this true-life tale of what it's like to write a Lonely Planet guide, but I found him hilarious and endearing from pretty much the first page. In fact, I was reading this in Seattle -- where he now lives -- and kept secretly hoping to bump into him. Loved this book -- he's very careful not to make it a scandalous tell-all, but rather an honest look into what goes in to writing a travel guidebook for Lonely Planet. I loved that it...more

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Nov 27, 2009 Meg rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, travel, brazil

I picked up this book because I thought it would be interesting to read a firsthand account of the life of a travel writer. The title does strongly imply that this is the general topic of the book. And I did find it interesting to read about Kohnstamm's experiences as a writer for Lonely Planet.

However, nearly 50% of this book is not at all about travel writing. Instead, it's about the irresponsible and juvenile behavior of the author as he parties his way through New York City and Brazil.

If I'm...more

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“It is my hope that this book will help to demystify the origins of travel writing and show that when thousands of travelers follow a guidebook word-for-word, recommendation-for-recommendation, it not only harms contemporary international travel but can also do serious harm to places in developing countries.” — 1 person liked it

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