Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?
An Account of Writing a Lonely Planet Guidebook in Brazil
Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, & Professional Hedonism (Three Rivers Press, 2008) is the exciting story of Thomas Kohnstamm’s first writing assignment for Lonely Planet. Kohnstamm is given two months to completely rewrite the Lonely Planet section on Northeastern Brazil. Abandoning his girlfriend, his Wall-Street job, and a comfy salary, Kohnstamm sets out on an adventure to discover the true underbelly of writing for guidebooks.
In addition to seeing the sites of Northeastern Brazil, Kohnstamm experiences an unfortunate one-night stand with an Austrian flight attendant. He also resorts to selling ecstacy in order to finance his research. Throughout his struggles, he is forced to remind himself that "travel writing" is a dream job and that there are numerous people willing to trade places with him if he chooses to quit.
Throughout his book, Kohnstamm reveals that guidebook writing is not as glamorous or accurate as the public would like to believe. His small salary is limiting and keeps him from being able to enjoy many of the places that he is recommending to his readers.
In order to make his deadline and stay under budget, Kohnstamm is forced to skip over multiple sites that he is supposed to visit and stay only at hotels that offer him a discount. Despite these lapses, Kohnstamm shows that he is passionate about his work and makes a sincere effort to provide his readers with as many details of well-researched sites as he possibly can.
Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? is an exciting tale that has the reader hooked from the very first page. Kohnstamm’s story easily transitions from shocking to hilarious to thought provoking. His personal story is seamlessly woven into his description of the surrounding culture, geography, and history.
Controversy
The controversial nature of Kohnstamm’s writing has received attention from both the public and the publishers of Lonely Planet. Travelers who use Lonely Planet guides when planning their vacations are angry that the reviews they rely on may have been fabricated, plagiarized, or made in exchange for goods and services. In response to Kohnstamm’s surprising confessions and allegations, Lonely Planet has issued a statement regarding the integrity of their materials and the role that Thomas Kohnstamm has played in reviewing and writing guidebooks for them.
About Thomas Kohnstamm
Thomas Kohnstamm is an American travel writer. He has an M.A. in Latin American studies from Stanford University and currently lives in Seattle. He is the author of numerous Lonely Planet guidebooks including guides to Chile and Easter Island, South America on a shoestring, and Caribbean Islands.
