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Aug 20, 2008

Michael rated it:

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

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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 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...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

May 25, 2008

PastAllReason rated it:

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.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 23, 2008

Cathy rated it:

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.

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Nov 30, 2008

Adele rated it:

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...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 21, 2008

Bode rated it:

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.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2008

Osho rated it:

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...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 28, 2011

Aimee rated it:

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 pract More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 29, 2008

Wendy rated it:

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 consta More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jul 01, 2008

Philip rated it:

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...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 04, 2011

Christoph rated it:

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 More...

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Jun 25, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

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 th More...

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Apr 19, 2010

Andrew rated it:

"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 mas More...

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Dec 27, 2009

Ash rated it:

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 P More...

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Oct 04, 2009

Martine rated it:

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...

3 comments like (8 people liked it)

Nov 13, 2008

Elizabeth rated it:

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 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 07, 2009

Monica rated it:

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...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 02, 2011

Lee rated it:

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 More...

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Jun 29, 2009

Jan rated it:

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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Jun 08, 2008

Karin rated it:

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.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 10, 2009

Jon rated it:

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...

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Apr 23, 2009

Unwisely rated it:

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...

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Nov 30, 2008

Holly rated it:

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:

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 an More...

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Feb 20, 2011

Reena rated it:

He devorado este libro. Fue regalo del señor Kailos por acogerle en mi casa en la parada que hizo en Singapur en su vuelta al mundo y me ha encantado. El autor escribió la guía Lonely Planet de Brasil y cuenta su periplo, cómo empezó todo, lo que tuvo que hacer en Brasil para salir adelante, lo que le pasó y hace un muy buen análisis de las implicaciones de ser un backpacker, de la filosofía del viajero libre que carga una guía Lonely Planet en la mochila. Me he sentido identificada en muchos pá More...

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Jan 29, 2009

Sarah rated it:

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 feelin More...

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Aug 26, 2009

Mark rated it:

I am not giving this book five stars because I thought it was exceptional writing. It was good writing, but not great. However, it was a hell of a lot of fun to read. It surprises me to say that because I almost took the book back to the library after the first two chapters. I'm glad I decided to give it another chance and read one more chapter.

The author claims it is all true, though he compressed time, changed names, and took some other minor artistic license. If it is, he li More...

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Oct 26, 2011

Stephy rated it:

If one considers "Swashbuckling Adventures" to be lots of booze, drugs and sex, this is your book. By the time a guidebook makes it into print, the process has taken so long that an amazing percentage of the information is obsolete. Get your travel information online.

I really did think this book might give me some insight into the way travel writers work. It could have done just that. Instead, it read from the very beginning like a "Boy did I get drunk and wasted on d More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 25, 2008

Kim rated it:

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...

3 comments like

Sep 08, 2008

Michael rated it:

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...

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Jul 29, 2008

Asaf rated it:

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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