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Review
Praise for To Hellholes and Back
"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
Product Description
The guru of extreme tourism sets out to face his worst fears in Africa, India, Mexico City, and—most terrifying of all—at Disney World
In the widely-acclaimed Smile When You’re Lying, Chuck Thompson laid bare the travel industry’s dirtiest secrets. Now he’s out to discover if some of the world’s most ill-reputed destinations live up to their bad raps, while confronting a few of his own travel anxieties in the process. Whether he’s traveling across the Congo with a former bodyguard from notorious dictator Joseph Mobutu’s retinue or diving into the heart of India’s monsoon season, To Hellholes and Back delivers Thompson’s trademark combination of hilarious stories and wildly provocative opinions, as well as some surprising observations about America’s evolving place in the world.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
As good as the first,
By
This review is from: To Hellholes and Back: Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism (Paperback)
Yet again Thompson delivers a humourous and cynical evaluation of what he defines as 'hell holes,' with entertaining anecdotes and even better conclusions. While he exposes many negative aspects of a place or quashes its stereotypes, he still manages to show some positive light at the end. A fantastic and honest read I found difficult to put down.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews) 13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Witty, Intelligent, Page-Turner,
By Michael Maffei - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: To Hellholes and Back: Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism (Paperback)
First and foremost, this book is a great and enjoyable read. I had trouble putting it down - except on a few occasions when I found myself laughing out-loud.Some of Chuck Thompson's witty one-liners were priceless. His stories are well-conceived and packed with intelligent observations. Now, it's not perfect - there are some jokes that go over flat and I didn't agree with all his conclusions, but those are few and far between. Overall, this book is a great, intelligent, and humorous read. Even more, Mr. Thompson is a writer who has done his homework. I have some colleagues that have just returned from a four month stint in India. I shared a number of Mr. Thompson's experiences and observations from the India portion of his book with them - and they found themselves laughing and agreeing whole-heartedly. An excellent book - I recommend to all! Mr. Thompson seems like the type of guy you'd love to sit down and have a beer with. 13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Four Great Experiences in One Book,
By Paul A. Zemanek - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: To Hellholes and Back: Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism (Paperback)
Considering how oversaturated the travelogue market has become, it's getting harder and harder to find the gems. But To Hellholes and Back is a diamond. Chuck Thompson's writing is dense (in a very good way) without becoming bogged down, info-packed without being showy, passionate without being strident, and critical without descending to the sort of glib shooting of fish in a barrel that characterizes so much opinion writing these days. And make no mistake, this is a man with opinions. But his stances on everything from Miley Cyrus to two-tier pricing give another welcome dimension to an already rich experience. There isn't a boring sentence in the entire book. It could actually be a fast read if one isn't inclined -- like I was -- to savor some of the wittier lines. (Incidentally, his friend Shanghai Bob -- who shows up in Mexico City -- can take his place alongside Bill Bryson's Katz and Hunter Thompson's Samoan lawyer as one of literature's most intriguing road-trip co-pilots.)The book offers a lot of suspenseful episodes (the solo walk in the African bush comes to mind) but none more so than seeing how Thompson would handle something as seemingly banal as Walt Disney World after having already immersed himself in the exoticism of the Congo, India and Mexico City. He does not disappoint. As Thompson notes, Disney harbors its own forms of danger -- more cultural than physical, of course. But he avoids the outright dismissal of the "dreams can come true" ethos (again, fish in a barrel) and instead opens himself up to the idea that Walt Disney World -- not to mention the world of Disney in general -- may have positives that go beyond being able to find a parking space during peak season. He offers an honest appraisal of the duality that is Disney. There's even an emotional moment or two. It may be impossible to bring the reputation of the travelogue industry back to what it once was without burning a whole lot of books, but Thompson convinces us that it can still be a sublime, engaging form of writing capable of transporting armchair travelers to other, fascinating worlds -- be they the happiest places on earth or among the saddest. 9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extreme Reading,
By D. Joseph - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: To Hellholes and Back: Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism (Paperback)
Chuck Thompson's brand of travel writing is not for the fainthearted or polite. His observations are smartass smart; his prose is take-no-prisoners captivating. He's unapologetically opinionated about just about everything and certainly about every "hellhole" he visits. He's probably one of the only guys traipsing around the planet who could make total sense of putting Congo, Walt Disney World, India, and Mexico City together in the same book. Between crazy predicaments, hilarious side stories, and penetrating peripatetic insights, you get to know and like the guy. Tagging along lets you go places, meet people, and see, learn, and think things you probably never would have otherwise. Brilliant and memorable. Even surprisingly redemptive.
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