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. ( )

Meh
Just OK
Vetran travel writer Chuck Thompson shares his exploits he could not tell in his writing - what went WRONG, what he didn't like, how awful Americans muck up everything --no, make that just tourists everwhere.
No pearls of wisdow found, however, he is bright, witty, and has a nice writing style. ( )

Thompson has traveled to over 35 countries, and is a veteran travel writer. In "Smile When You're Lying" Chuck relates his experience and observations about places that most readers won't ever go. He starts off as an ESL teacher in Japan, later he meets Bangkok college girls who pull a fast one on him and leave him stranded and penniless on a Thai Island. His prose is quick and witty, and reading this you will feel like you sitting at a pub sharing a beer with the author as he relates his tales to you. Thompson exposes the travel writing industry's cliches, exaggerations, and soggy adjectives with humor and honesty. -Tamara

Former Maxim features editor and all-around bon vivant Chuck Thompson peels back the faux-bamboo veneer of the travel business in a scathing, often hysterically funny exposé.

Thompson bemoans the lack of any kind of ”authentic” point of view in contemporary travel writing while explaining exactly why such a voracious growth industry likes it that way. With some clever travel tips, handy editing advice, and a career’s worth of self-effacing travel disasters to draw from, he serves up some tasty travel tidbits (number one on Thompson’s list of things a writer should never do: describe anything other than food in culinary terms).

As a former magazine designer, my favorite part of the book is Thompson’s whole-hearted yet utterly doomed attempt to manage a start-up magazine for Travelocity. The sense of dread when consultants show up two weeks before the first issue is due on press is palpable—and spot on. Consultants are like bubonic rats and only bring grim death to any workplace.

Unlike Holidays in Hell, wherein misanthrope P.J. O’Rourke simply reinforces American xenophobic attitudes toward the Third World, Thompson actually dispels many preconceived notions toward places we never go, and portrays the usual hot spots as the crapholes they usually are.

Thompson and I see eye-to-eye on the questionable appeal of the Caribbean, Graceland, and Las Vegas. I also agree that Eric Clapton, while technically not a vacation destination is somewhat overrated. And thanks to Thompson’s detailed romp through Bangkok’s red-light district, I will never look at Ulysses S. Grant’s signature the same way again. ( )

It's hard to get into this cranky travel book written by a man who, while claiming to hate cliched travel writing, spends an entire chapter on revelations including that there are whores in Bangkok and they're not all pretty. ( )