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53 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The purpose of this book, November 14, 2008
This review is from: Don't Go There!: The Travel Detective's Essential Guide to the Must-Miss Places of the World (Paperback)
I think many people are misinterpreting what this book is about.
You can go to the greatest city on earth, and have a bad time. I live in DC, and there are certainly things I wish tourists knew coming in about where NOT to go, what to take a pass on, and what they should see, come hell or high water. This book does that for other cities, like saying what sections of the city to avoid in Detroit or Chicago. It's frank about when the cities are at their most crowded (tourists coming to DC: 3pm is rush hour here, okay?), what seasons to avoid.
It's an honest book that doesn't pander to the dreamer who wants to think of the world as a destination vacation, rather than as a place where other people live.
As for his comments on Ashland... it's a great place to raise a family, sure, but if I'm vacationing, it's not the Center of the Universe for me (their quote, not mine).
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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Go There! Is a great read., November 21, 2008
This review is from: Don't Go There!: The Travel Detective's Essential Guide to the Must-Miss Places of the World (Paperback)
Don't Go There! is a great read, packed with interesting, useful,
hilarious and bizarre trivia about cities and towns, both in the U.S.
and abroad. Unlike a conventional travel book, Peter Greenberg
tells us about the underbelly of these places - which is something no
guidebook has done before. It's refreshing and very entertaining.
You can tell there was a tremendous amount of research that went into
writing this book. In his introduction, the author says that while
the facts and figures are correct, his conclusions and advice are
subjective. Greenberg is an investigative reporter, not a paid
mouthpiece for the travel industry, and that's what makes the book a
valuable read, as well as controversial. It's a great gift for any
active or armchair traveler, who already owns the usual collection of
conventional guidebooks.
Five stars!!
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37 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
at least I didn't spend any money on this book, January 12, 2009
This review is from: Don't Go There!: The Travel Detective's Essential Guide to the Must-Miss Places of the World (Paperback)
I was recently given `Don't Go There' as a birthday gift. I am very thankful - at least I didn't spend any money on this book. I'll state off the bat to assuage Mr. Greenberg's fan club that I HAVE read the book, I'm not in the tourism industry in ANY form (other than as a traveler) and I have NO interest/residence in any of the places I mention.
Previously I had a passing familiarity with Mr. Greenberg's name. I don't know why he is considered an `expert' and I still don't know. There will always be differences of opinion and that is what makes the world go round. However -
To suggest to people that they shouldn't go to places with high rates of suicide (he cites in the U.S. Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Alaska and Manhattan - we've had wonderful vacations in some of those places) because suicide might be contagious.....
Skipping cities (or towns) where the residents eat a lot of fast food - oh yeah, that is a reason not to go to San Antonio, Texas.
Deriding "Fake European Towns" such as Solvang, California (founded in 1911 by a group of Danish educators) and Castroville, Texas (established in 1844 by several dozen European families from Alsace and Baden). I'll give him Leavenworth, Washington, but it is absolutely shocking that immigrants would fashion a town after their homeland - not. Where is his outrage at Vail, Colorado or the epitome of fake, Las Vegas, Nevada?
Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but these are just a few of the examples of why I don't value Mr. Greengerg's opinion.
Mr. Greenberg states in his introduction that his book is "about presenting - not promoting - facts that allow people to make reasonably intelligent, independent decisions about the choices available to them". He also includes "... there will be claims that I inserted facts out of context...". Well, I DO have a problem with his representations of facts. In the discussion of lost luggage and airlines (without a doubt a definite concern) the 10 worst offenders for a specific quarter are listed. About the airline with the fewest lost luggage (of those worst) the book states: "...which mishandled 9.92 bags per 1,000 people. Hey, at least it's under 10 percent!" Yes, that number is under 10 percent. It is also under 50 percent. Perhaps stating that they were under 1 percent would have been more accurate and informative. Even the worst of the worst mishandled 13.16 bags for every 1,000 passengers. That is even under 10 percent, at 1.316 percent. Ten percent does sound more dramatic though. I will say that the next time I'm at a luggage carousel, watching the bags go round and round, I'll be thinking that at least 1 of each 100 of them probably shouldn't be there. If Mr. Greenberg and his "team of dedicated staffers" have problems with such basic math, all his other "facts" come into question.
Do I consider Mr. Greenberg's `Don't Go There' a travel resource? NO. Is it entertaining? Yes, but not entertaining enough to buy. I'd suggest looking for it at your local library. I know I'm now not at all interested in any of his so-called `expertise'.
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