false 2075129 1 For those who think that travel guidebooks are the gospel truth.<br><br>The waitress suggests that I come back after she closes down the restaurant, around midnight. We end up having sex in a chair and then on one of the tables in the back corner. I pen a note in my Moleskine that I will later recount in the guidebook review, saying that the restaurant &#8220;is a pleasant surprise . . . and the table service is friendly.&#8221; &#8211;Thomas Kohnstamm, professional travel writer and author of numerous Lonely Planet guidebooks<br><br><b>WANTED:</b> Travel Writer for Brazil<br><b>QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED </b><br><b>Decisiveness:</b> the ability to desert your entire previous life&#8211;including well-salaried office job, attractive girlfriend, and basic sanity for less than minimum wage <br><b>Attention to detail:</b> the skill to research northeastern Brazil, including transportation, restaurants, hotels, culture, customs, and language, while juggling sleep deprivation, nonstop nightlife, and excessive alcohol consumption<br><b>Creativity:</b> the imagination to write about places you never actually visit<br><b>Resourcefulness:</b> utilizing persuasion, seduction, and threats, when necessary, to secure a place to stay for the evening once your pitiable advance has been (mis)spent<br><b>Resilience:</b> determination to overcome setbacks such as bankruptcy, disillusionment, and an ill-fated one-night stand with an Austrian flight attendant<br><br>As Kohnstamm comes to personal terms with each of these job requirements, he unveils the underside of the travel industry and its often-harrowing effect on writers, travelers, and the destinations themselves. Moreover, he invites us into his world of compromising and scandalous situations in one of the most exciting countries as he races against an impossible deadline. 2080377 22 4 2008 Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism total:273|5:25|4:60|3:107|2:60|1:21| 273 827 435 94 1 3 false false Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 13 16:04:16 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 07:28:00 -0700 2008
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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 somet...more...]]> 1 2 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 14 20:23:04 -0700 2008 Sun May 25 10:53:51 -0700 2008
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 t...more...]]> 3 2 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 08:12:59 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 23 01:46:58 -0700 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 belie...more...]]> 1 1 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 30 19:06:36 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 19:19:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 2 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 21 08:50:57 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 21 08:53:46 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 2 false false Thu Dec 04 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 13:49:57 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 21:54:24 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Tue Apr 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 27 18:44:44 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 29 15:22:18 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 12:58:50 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 01 19:06:34 -0700 2008
I also wonder how much of his inspiration comes from his travels, and ...more...]]> 2 7 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 16:14:40 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 20:47:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Thu Nov 13 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 13 10:51:09 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 13 10:56:56 -0800 2008 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jan 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 30 10:39:05 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 07 13:53:54 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 21:30:19 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 17:20:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 true false Sun Jun 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 08 18:51:53 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 08 18:54:40 -0700 2008
But it entertained me on my flight home from Seattle so I can't fault the book for that.]]> 4 0 false false Thu May 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 05 09:12:39 -0700 2009 Sun May 10 21:06:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 21:29:55 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 21:35:34 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 30 10:10:51 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 10:14:25 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 09 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 11:41:54 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 29 09:05:42 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Aug 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 19:05:42 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 10:03:15 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 07 23:38:19 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 25 16:55:54 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 11 13:49:09 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 08 06:20:49 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2075129