Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism

ISBN: 0307394654

Author: Kohnstamm, Thomas

Condition: New

For those who think that travel guidebooks are the gospel truth.WANTED: Travel Writer for BrazilQUALIFICATIONS REQUIREDDecisiveness: the ability to desert your entire previous life-including well-salaried office job, attractive girlfriend, and basic sanity for less than minimum wageAttention to detail: the skill to research northeastern Brazil, including transportation, restaurants, hotels, culture, customs, and language, while juggling sleep deprivation, nonstop nightlife, and excessive alcohol consumptionCreativity: the imagination to write about places you never actually visitResourcefulness: utilizing persuasion, seduction, and threats, when necessary, to secure a place to stay for the evening once your pitiable advance has been (mis)spentResilience: determination to overcome setbacks such as bankruptcy, disillusionment, and an ill-fated one-night stand with an Austrian flight attendantAs 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.