http://talesofarampaginglibrarian.blo... ( )

I got the advance reader's copy of this -- it's a fairly entertaining, occasionally hilarious travelogue. Some of the stories are pure gold. Unfortunately, much of the book is weighed down by Thompson's bitterness. He spends far too much time lamenting how the travel industry is keeping him down, time which would be better spent on more entertaining stories. Some sections seem utterly pointless. The best chapter, the one that stood out the most in my mind, was the one on the Philippines. ( )

The shade of Hunter S. Thompson, the great Gonzo journalist, hangs heavily over these tangentially-connected tales of travel and travel journalism, but an author can do worse than tread in the good Doctor's footprints.

As a catalogue of travel disasters and outrageous happenings, it's a fun book, but I enjoyed his dissection of travel journalism the most. Did you ever wonder why all of it sounds exactly the same? Did you ever wonder why all of these places are "paradises" which are "an enchanting blend of ancient and modern" and "boast" "delicious" "fun-filled" and "romantic" activities? I don't suppose the answers will be a huge surprise to anyone, but Thompson is entertaining on the subject.

I thought he had a good insight into resort travel and poverty; there's something very uncomfortable about visiting a "paradise" where most of the population is living beneath the poverty line. In the words of the Sex Pistols, "a cheap holiday in other people's misery." This isn't to say that poor countries shouldn't encourage tourism, or that westerners shouldn't visit - just that walled compounds filled with booze, pools, and obsequious service (which is profitable only because local wages are vanishingly low) are dishonest and morally uncomfortable.

The majority of the book is a profane, obscene, funny tour over the face of the planet, and is well worth a read. ( )

Awesome language and thoroughly enjoyable read. ( )

Lots of amusing insider travel bits here, but the book gets very annoying when the author uses it as a soapbox for opinions with little pertinence to the subject at hand. ( )