Book Review: Don't Go There! - The Travel Detective's Essential Guide to the Must-Miss Places of the World by Peter Greenberg - Page 2

For example, Greenberg helps explain his statement about Haiti by pointing out that when American Airlines flies from Miami to Port-au-Prince the crew stays on the plane, which contains enough fuel to return without refueling. Passengers are disembarked, new passengers get on and the plane takes off all within an hour due to risks of violence and kidnapping. In fact, some of the pilots on the daily route told Greenberg they've never left the airport despite numerous trips to the country.

Who can doubt that it is probably useful to know what your airline thinks of safety in the place it's flying you or what cities have air pollution levels that may actually cause breathing problems or those that literally have toxic waste issues? Don't Go There combines such material with basic information, such as the most expensive cities, the dirtiest hotels in the U.S., cruise ships with three or more reported illness outbreaks from 2002 to 2007, dangerous theme parks, and where and when a traveler is likely to encounter traffic bottlenecks.

Given the wide range of topics, the book has the inherent problem that some material may not be pertinent to every reader. That downside is offset in two ways.

First, Greenberg is not afraid to bring a sense of humor to the topic. Even though it may not impact your particular travel plans, there's at least entertainment value in reading the "Lamest Claims to Fame" (such as the Minnesota community that bills itself as the "Sink Hole Capital of the U.S.A.") or which cities have the highest per capita fast food consumption (Greenville, North Carolina, tops the list).

Second, and most important, the breadth of information makes the book useful regardless of whether you're an occasional or frequent traveler or whether you travel outside the U.S. or prefer a driving vacation. As such, Don't Go There is a worthy addition to almost any traveler's library and certainly public libraries.

Article Author: Tim Gebhart

Tim Gebhart lives in Sioux Falls, SD, where he practices law in order to provide shelter for his family, his dogs, and his books. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and his blog de guerre is A Progressive on the Prairie.

Visit Tim Gebhart's author page — Tim Gebhart's Blog