Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places: 5th Edition (Robert Young Pelton the World's Most Dangerous Places) Review
Robert Young Pelton is the dark brother of Rick Steves, and the book he has written is not really a traveler's guide, since you would have to be crazy to follow in his footsteps. Who on earth would really want to visit god forsaken countries like Sudan or North Korea? Rather, it is a showcase for Pelton's snappy, amusing prose about countries of the world whose citizens have become largely unhinged, either through religious extremism, poverty, military dictatorships, or harsh and morally reprehensible governments. It's a pretty amazing survey of all that can go wrong when the perennial bad boys of the world go on a crusade or a rampage. The murder and mayhem that Pelton documents inundates a large percentage of human beings on this planet, mostly ordinary innocent people trying to cope with the lousy hand that life has dealt them. It is important for the affluent and complacent West understand the daily misery they endure. That might be the one reason you might want to visit say, Bosnia or Chechnya, to be humbled a bit. It's all here: the kidnappings, the massacres, the human slave trade, the insane greed and utter disregard for human life that plagues so much of the world, and much more. There is scant mention of Somalia, possibly because it is a place so awful that even Pelton fears to tread there. All in all, a depressing read that Pelton tries to liven up with a smart aleck sense of humor that is sometimes cynical and cruel. I would recommend this book especially to modern day missionaries and other professional do-gooders to show them what a gargantuan task it will be to bring even a sliver of moral comprehension to these places...including the United States of America.
(This book needs a serious update. Five years is an eternity in today's fast paced world.)
Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places: 5th Edition (Robert Young Pelton the World's Most Dangerous Places) Overview
The long-awaited fifth edition of Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places comes fresh from the danger zones. An underground classic among the CIA, mujahadeen, special forces, NGOs, and savvy adventurers, DP has now become the de facto standard in understanding the groups, the players, the places, and tensions that fuel conflicts around the world. Pelton and his contributors tell it like it is in a brutally honest and personal style that delivers crisp, insightful, and useful information. DP5 gives the scoop when the media and guidebooks -- and even governments -- won't dare. The ground truth and hard-won experience inside DP5 will open your eyes and may save your life.
In addition to the exclusive first-person reports, DP5 also includes thousands of hard-to-find contacts, Web sites, e-mails, survival tips, travel ideas, adventures, and even safety schools for war journalists. No walls, no barriers, no bull. The most dangerous countries from five stars (Hell on Earth) to one star (dangerous rep).
Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places: 5th Edition (Robert Young Pelton the World's Most Dangerous Places) Specifications
The indispensable guide for the intrepid adventurer -- a book some governments don't want you to read. Pelton, a professional adventurer, and Aral, an international war correspondent, have created the only travel guide to danger and adventure. Everything you need to know about the world's hot spots -- Bosnia-Herzegovina, Liberia, Rwanda, Peru -- is right here, from the inoculations required and dangerous holidays to pencil onto your calendar to the addresses of intelligence organizations and political activist groups. If you're raring to go where angels fear to tread, this book could save your life.
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Customer Reviews
Mr T - Ronald L. Teker - Oak Harbor,WA USA
Very interesting. A must for anyone travelling in the world. Humorous and easy to read.
This book may be contraband - Jason Kirkfield - Rocky Mountain High
Although I did a lot of traveling through questionable places overseas, it was before I had this book. D'oh!
So for me personally, I have read and enjoyed it for entertainment value--and, so as not to minimize the book's value, to educate myself--rather than as an in-country guide. Some people have questioned the accuracy of the information. I cannot speak to that, but obviously situations in some of these, shall we say, less frequented destinations change on a daily basis, as political or military winds blow. So even having a good guide does not preclude information from becoming quickly outdated, and it's each suicidal traveler to his or her own.
To be sure, this is real Soldier of Fortune stuff. Robert Young Pelton hits all of the world's hot spots, and there is an edge of sensationalism to the writing. After all, who else other than journalists, mercenaries, and diplomats want to (or for that matter, even need to) go to most of these places? At least the disclaimer includes the warning that, "our advice is more likely to kill you than save your life." (!)
Still, I have never seen so much difficult-to-find information presented in one book before. It's essentially an adventure travel guide combined with the CIA World FactBook. I would not be surprised if intelligence operatives and field agents from our own government's agencies are issued with DP.
I own the second edition (1997). Am I the only one who thinks the photo on the cover of RYP looks EXACTLY like Harvey Keitel with a moustache?? I suppose the world has gotten even dangerous (at least for Americans) since 9/11, so presumably newer editions reflect this.
Travel safe...The life you save may be your own!
an enjoyable read - Ferdinand Kovaskis - Chicago, ILL
Pelton gives who, what and whens of the location in discussion. A must read for anyone suffering from wanderlust. Could be a good book for those that question the validity of the media
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