Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism
by Thomas Kohnstamm (Goodreads author)book data
231 ratings,
3.04
average rating, 84 reviews
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published
April 22nd 2008
by Three Rivers Press
binding
Paperback, 272 pages
isbn
0307394654
(isbn13: 9780307394651)
description
For those who think that travel guidebooks are the gospel truth.
The waitress suggests that I come back after she closes down the restaurant, around mi...more
The waitress suggests that I come back after she closes down the restaurant, around mi...more
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avg 3.04
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in August, 2008
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 abou...more
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 abou...more
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Read in May, 2008
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.
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.
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Read in May, 2008
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.
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Read in November, 2008
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 e...more
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Read in April, 2008
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.
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Read in December, 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
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Read in April, 2008
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 co...more
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 co...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
cynics who think it's all rigged, people who like sex and drugs
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...more
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...more
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Read in November, 2008
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.
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Read in January, 2009
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 ...more
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 ...more
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Read in June, 2009
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 Hu...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in June, 2008
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.
But it entertained me on my flight home from Seattle so I can't fault the book for that.
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Read in May, 2009
recommended to Jon by:
Thank you Scottyrecommends it for: People that love life
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"!!!
Re...more
Re...more
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Read in April, 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, a...more
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, a...more
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Read in November, 2008
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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Read in January, 2009
This book was mentioned in the intro of The Best American Travel Writing 2008. It wasn’t a very favorable mention, but it caught my interest. I read it straight through while on a cruise, and I’m torn as to how I feel about it. On the one hand, the author leaves no doubt in my mind that he is in sort supply when it comes to morals or any sort of self integrity. He is obnoxious and selfish among many other things. At the same time, this is not meant to be a story that gives you warm, fuzzy fe...more
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Read in September, 2008
recommended to Kim by:
Jasmine
Anyone who has done any bit of backpacking or hostel living or meandering about New York City in your 20s or questioning of your life's path when all you want to do is hit the road will be drawn to this book. It starts out strong and hilarious, with Thomas describing himself as a slightly ridiculous, irresponsible character. The descriptions of hostel life and road friendships and romances are spot-on (particularly the levels of debauchery undertaken by Thomas and his companions). However, as...more
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Read in September, 2008
Thomas Kohnstamm is one of those guys who make a great dinner party guest, but a maddening friend. His endless parade of bad, self-destructive decisions make for great stories, but his uncanny ability to emerge on top every time is enough to drive a reasonable person to distraction. Like the amateur on-line poker player who stays in a hand with a 2-7 off-suit only to flop a full house and knock you and your three aces out, this guy makes me want to scream.
This book is a very funny,...more
This book is a very funny,...more
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Read in August, 2008
There is a self congratulatory tone in Kohnstamm's recantations of shady interactions with drug dealers, endless drunken debauchery and fleeting encounters with prostitutes and women. For me, within the first twenty or so pages he already succeeds in becoming the assassin of his own character, leading me to question whether the tales he told were a true portrait of the places he visits or simply a self fulfilling prophecy of a shallow, 'cooler than you' lifestyle he seems naturally drawn to; s...more
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Read in October, 2008
recommends it for:
Masochists.
Oh, Thomas Kohnstamm. I had high hopes for your book. I expected behind the scenes, the true story of travel writing, "the dream job" demystified, a conscious examination of the effects of Lonely Planet-Style tourism on developing countries.... Something, perhaps, to make Mr. Kohnstamm's self-indulgence and frustrating incompetencies feel like redemption.
I settled in, determined to finish it, and told my wife, "I am going to finish this book today, if it kills me."...more
I settled in, determined to finish it, and told my wife, "I am going to finish this book today, if it kills me."...more
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