To Hellholes and Back: Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism - Softcover

Thompson, Chuck

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0805087885 ISBN 13: 9780805087888

Publisher: griffin, 2009

Synopsis

To Hellholes and Back For years the author has privately maintained a list of no-go destinations on the basis of horrors from hyena attacks and bilharzia to pushy locals and bad food. To find out if his anxieties are justified, he travels to the places he's previously done everything in his power to avoid. This title contains his observations about world travel.

About this title

Review:

"Thompson is wickedly entertaining...reminiscent of Chuck Klosterman and David Foster Wallace....The unvarnished reality in these pages might just make you more eager than ever to hit the road." --San Francisco Chronicle on Smile When You're Lying

"If there is such a pastime as extreme tourism, Chuck Thompson is surely its guru." --Boston Globe on Smile When You're Lying

"[Thompson] knows the score and he tallies it accurately....A dead-on demolition job...The book is a savagely funny act of revenge." --The New York Times on Smile When You're Lying

"Riveting, hilarious, and wildly entertaining." --Booklist

"His observations are sharp and honest. A witty, provocative tale that ... packs in plenty of local flavor and amusing anecdotes." --Kirkus

"[From] the original rogue travel writer.... Well-written, funny, and fast-paced.... It's refreshing to read a travel writer who eschews all the 'sun-dappled vista'-style prose and tells it like it is." --Jaunted.com

"Filled with hilarious stories, wildly provocative opinions and unvarnished observations about world travel, To Hellholes and Back proves Thompson is not only a sharp, gritty writer but a fearless man of travel." --Zink Magazine

"Extremely irreverent." --Outside Magazine

"[A] tour de force à la Eat, Pray, Love, only with snarky commentary and well, not a hint of spirituality..." --Brave New Traveler

"[A] humorous send-up to these four ... fascinating destinations.... It's dirty, scandalous, and it'll give you a completely fresh perspective on travel, travel writing, and the travel industry." --The Lost Girls

"[Thompson's] incisive observations and biting sense of humor make for some riveting reading." --The Denver Post

About the Author:

Chuck Thompson, the author of Smile When You're Lying, is a former features editor for Maxim and was the first editor in chief of Travelocity magazine and served as part of the editorial team for the launch of CNNGo.com. He has traveled on assignment in more than thirty-five countries and his writing and photography have appeared in The Atlantic, Esquire, National Geographic Adventure, Playboy, Spy, Escape, WWE Magazine, Outside, Men's Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

About this edition

• Publisher: griffin
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0805087885
• ISBN 13: 9780805087888
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336