Peter GreenbergBesprekingen

Dated (2007 edition) but still an extremely good resource for all things travel.

“Don’t advertise yourself as an American,” advises Peter Greenberg early in The Travel Detective. But to get the best out of this book you’ll need to be one, or at least to be a frequent flyer between US destinations since a petty and mean-sprited struggle against fellow passengers and against equally mean-spirited US airlines forms much of its subject matter.

Greenberg is the travel editor of NBC’s Today show, and “the nation’s preeminent expert on travel and travel-related issues”. He offers to teach you how to beat airlines, hotels and car rental companies by using their own secretive rules, and if he stuck to that the book would be a third of its current size, and much better.

His advice falls into three main categories: useful (don’t call hotel group 1-800 numbers as they never have the best room rates), useful only until enough people have read this book (how to get round the lack of frequent flyer reward seats on a chosen flight), and “Well, duh!” (buy travel insurance, take books and games to amuse children, jet lag is not a myth).

But Greenberg dedicates much of his first chapter to telling his American audience just how stupid they are, and quoting research to prove it. Recent horrific events may have established a temporary close season on the Canadian national sport of ridiculing Americans, but once they become fair game again, there's plenty of ammunition here.

Unfortunately, having demonstrated that his countrymen couldn’t find the rest of the world even if given a map, he goes on to say, “The U.S. State Department is no longer cautioning Americans about travel in the Soviet Union within a 100-mile radius of Chernobyl.” It may perhaps have noticed, unlike Greenberg, that the Soviet Union disappeared more than ten years ago.

There’s other evidence of sloppy editing, such as the repetition of particular points, sometimes as little as two paragraphs apart. The book is written in a folksy style which suggests much of its material has been patched together from broadcast scripts, as does the pointless inclusion of an interview with Jay Leno, and set phrases from television such as, “Meet David Phillips,” which look odd in print.

There’s also a schoolboyish tendency to pad the book with lists, and he’s as tiresomely fond of CAPITAL LETTERS and exclamation marks as any Internet spam-writing illiterate!

Sprinkling his text freely with statistics, he doesn’t always seem to have a good grasp of their meaning. The news that 187,283 Americans injure themselves or die stepping out of their bathtubs each year does highlight the relatively low risk of overseas travel. But Greenberg fails to understand that the choice is not either to step out of a bathtub or to travel overseas, unless it’s assumed that Americans never bathe when abroad.

“Want to get angry?” he asks. Since apparently 47% of US frequent flyer points are earned from the purchase of other goods and services, the average collector spends at least US$11,750 shopping, and at least US$2000 on air tickets to qualify for a free flight—“That’s one very expensive coach ticket.” Only later does he consider that the frequent flyer has enjoyed US$13,750 in goods, flights, and other services, as well as the free ticket. Don’t get angry, get realistic.

There’s enough here for a useful pamphlet, but not for a book. There is however one piece of advice you’ll find invaluable: If there’s unrest, “head for the Canadian Embassy.”

Pretty basic stuff covered here. I suspect for people who don't travel often this will be very handy. But for frequent travelers don't waste your time.

An amusing little book. I certainly have to agree with the entry on the most wretched airport I have ever encountered: Charles de Gaulle International

"Although some complain about the smell ... the corruption ... or the crowds ... the consensus seems to be that this airport is just a poorly designed mess.
...
The problems happen when you try to transfer flights. There's no easy way to connect without going outside and trying to find a bus (wherever that may be) that actually will take you to the correct terminal. And when you get to that terminal, the lines can be so long that you can easily miss your flight. As for your connecting luggage, c'est la vie!"

I was ready to dismiss this book as useless. And then it became useful. And that means that, for you, it may be useless or it may be useful. Let me explain.

This is not a book that should be read through from start to finish. Rather, it is a reference book – referencing interesting travel locations you may want to visit. However, as I am wont to do, I started out with the idea of reading from start to finish. I've done this before with books really intended to be sampled and, while not the best way to experience them, I felt it gave me enough of a flavor to understand the true value of the book. In short order I learned, in this instance, such an approach was not going to work.

I tried for a while longer, for I am the type who does not like to start a book and then not finish. (Two exceptions: Ulysses, which I swear I will go back and tackle again, and Gravity's Rainbow, which I swear I will NOT go back and try again. Check out my review if you want more on that subject.) But it was not working. Part of the reason was that, as I mentioned, this is not a book that should be read through; rather, it should be referenced for particular needs. But I also found the writing to be boring. I mean, you're writing about some of the best places in the world, and the writing just lies there reporting facts and doing nothing more.

So, I then took the "use it as a reference book" approach. I looked up some things I knew about. I looked at roller coasters and was underwhelmed by what I saw. I dipped my toe into sections such as "Thrill-Seeking Adventures" and "And Everything Else..." and still saw nothing to make me care. I then looked in the index under Arizona (where I've lived all my life) and found nothing that interested me – nothing that even made me say "yes, someone would find this valuable."

Ready to write it off as a loss.

Then, last week, we started planning a trip to Seattle. So, I grabbed the book and looked in the index under Washington. Within I found reference to the Hotel Murano in Tacoma which is near the Museum of Glass. I had discovered a glass museum. And, I learned that the hotel was its own collection of glass art. And, suddenly, the book had provided value.

So, my recommendation is a hearty, solid, resounding...I haven't got a clue if this will work for you. In my case, after many strikes, there was a solid home run.

Your mileage may vary.

Interesting, but I preferred the lists posted by his friends at the end. Really, I was hoping for a book that would tell you what not to waste your money on...more for your average traveler. Since I don't foresee going to Algeria anytime soon, there wasn't much in here I could use. Back to TripAdvisor.com.........

In general, I love quirky travel books, like Roadside America or stories of travel gone wrong, like in I Should Have Stayed Home. This was more a FOX "news" version of a travel book; that is to say, it was humorless and seemed designed to frighten more than inform. In its defense; it's an equal opportunity fearmonger with the US represented more heavily than the rest of the world.½

Loads of information is contained in this book about various aspects and methods of travelling. The advice and resources given are excellent and I found myself jotting down lots of notes. A must read for anyone who travels.

just got this one into the collection. reading through it at my desk. this looks awesome! very thorough and informative. i can't wait to really dig into it.

Anything you ever want to know or should know about travel of all kinds