The World's Most Dangerous Places

I've heard Robert Young Pelton speak, and he is, if anything, even more thoughtful and provocative in person. He has written an extraordinary book that ordinary people will take to be a sensationalist travel guide, while real experts scrutinize every page for the hard truths about the real world that neither the CIA nor the media report. Unlike clandestine case officers and normal foreign service officers, all of them confined to capital cities and/or relying on third party reporting, Robert Young Pelton actually goes to the scene of the fighting, the scene of the butchery, the scene of the grand thefts, and unlike all these so-called authoritative sources, he actually has had eyeballs on the targets and boots in the mud. I have learned two important lessons from this book, and from its author Robert Young Pelton: First, trust no source that has not actually been there. He is not the first to point out that most journalists are "hotel warriors", but his veracity, courage, and insights provide compelling evidence of what journalism could be if it were done properly. Government sources are even worse--it was not until I heard him speak candidly about certain situations that I realized that most of our Embassy reporting--both secret and open--is largely worthless because it is third hand, not direct. Second, I have learned from this book and the author that sometimes the most important reason for visiting a war zone is to learn about what is NOT happening. His accounts of Chechnya, and his personal first-hand testimony that the Russians were terrorizing their Muslims in the *absence* of any uprising or provocation, are very disturbing. His books offers other accounts of internal terrorism that are being officially ignored by the U.S. Government, and I am most impressed by the value of his work as an alternative source of "national intelligence" and "ground truth". There are a number of very important works now available to the public on the major threats to any country's national security, and most of them are as unconventional as this one--Laurie Garrett on public health, Marq de Villiers on Water, Joe Thorton on chlorine-based industry and the environment--and some, like Robert D. Kaplan's books on his personal travels, are moving and inspiring reflections on reality as few in the Western world could understand it--but Robert Young Pelton is in my own mind the most structured, the most competent, the most truthful, and hence the most valuable reporter of fact on the world's most dangerous places. What most readers may not realize until they read this book is that one does not have to travel to these places to be threatened by them--what is happening there today, and what the U.S. government does or does not do about developments in these places, today, will haunt this generation and many generations to follow. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who cares to contemplate the real world right now.

I have read this book (in this version and it's earlier editions) several times, and I still cannot get enough. This is due to several reasons.First, because I have found Pelton's accounts of various places I personally have been to be accurate, I trust the author. And trustworthiness is an important characteristic of a writer in Pelton's position - ie. advisor to individuals contemplating travel into some of the world's most dangerous places.Second, I keep going back to DP because I enjoy Pelton's style. He is a no-nonsense, "tell it like it is" guy...but he never loses his sense of humor - an essential quality to have when traveling in places that are dangerous, uncomfortable, or inconvient.Third, I find this book invaluable, not only because of the travel advice dispensed, but also because, for me, reading each new edition of DP is like getting an update in worldwide current events - but NOT from the network TV drones who report only what America wants to hear! No...Pelton tells us the TRUTH - from the inside. Not some watered down, American-propagandized version. For example, I admired Pelton a few years ago after I spent a year in Russia and central Asia: his coverage of Russia and Chechnya was excellent - and accurate. And nothing like what was reported on American TV.It is for this last reason that I would recommend DP to anyone - not just to those considering travel to the world's war zones and crime centers. It it not just about travel - it is an annual education in world events!

After receiving this book as a gift, I ignored it's incredible white-pages size girth and began reading about everyplace in the world myself, as an American and Westerner, should avoid, and for what reasons.Written as a true guidebook for aspiring war-zone journalists and adventurers, DP doesn't skimp on the facts nor gloss over details that might decide your life or death in the most war-torn (Chechnya, Algeria) or statistically dangerous (Colombia, Cambodia) countries on the Earth. With well over 30 countries examined, you'll learn first hand why a Westerner shouldn't visit there, followed by detailed descriptions of who to avoid, what regional areas to steer clear from, and in case you really want to experience life on the wild side or if you really need that Solider of Fortune byline, how to get in and out without dying.Most fascinating to me is the rating system DP gives to certain countries. You'd be alarmed to learn why places such as Ethiopia gets a solid 5 star avoidance rating (constant, recent war with Enteria and the abundance of landmines) yet other tradionally Western-unfriendly places like Iraq and North Korea (rated "safer" than even America) due to their brutal punishment of minor crimes and police-state environments.With well over 200 pages of "helpful" research involving which transportation to avoid in any country, how to walk around various types of land mines, and what penalties you can expect for smuggling drugs out of the mountanious roads surrounding Pakistan, this book is an almost guilty, factual read that never impresses on the reader the author's morals. I kept reading from county to country, hoping that the next alphabetical sequence was somehow more deadly or destructive for visitors than the last. An incredible abundance of recent (DP is in it's 4th edition) web-links for the various rebel factions and government parties kept me interested well after I put the book down.Most country chapters are supplemented by the author's (or contributing author's) true, diary-like details regarding what he went through during his experience "in country".

Thinking of going to someplace dangerous? Not sure if it's dangerous or not? Not even considering it, but want to read up anyway?Pelton can help you. He and his colleagues show every sign of actually going to most of these places, or of interviewing people who did. In the sort of laconic, matter-of-fact style you'd expect of a seasoned mercenary, Pelton tells you what you'd need to know to either survive the trip or (more likely) sensibly decide to go somewhere else.:)What's really attractive about this book, which is roughly the size and shape and thickness of an almanac, is the absolute wealth of information in it. Scores of links to websites. Chapters on countries, including historical and cultural notes. Chapters on crime categories. Stuff on diseases. Tables comparing countries in certain categories (air fatalities, for example). Arguably it should be in the reference section although it's pretty hard to defend moving it out of the travel section. In any event, it makes a wonderful companion to an almanac as a way of learning more about the rest of the world. Refreshingly, the United States (Pelton is Canadian) gets listed and its hazards considered just like any other country.Recommended either as travel information or as a reference on world cultures.

Pelton's humour and knack for commonsense carry this book. It carries plenty of information packaged in well-organized sections, which makes it great for leisure reading.I've read it several times over the last year and remain impressed with the humanity and cheer with which he writes. In many ways his friendly, live-with-the-locals style of travel is a perfect antidote to the Lonely Planet syndrome, which has travelers bunking with other backpackers at guesthouses and haggling every last shekel out of the most kindly third-world merchants.I've been to a couple of these places and found the dangers overstated in the book, but that may be a function of the book's age.Unfortunately, it appears that some sections of the book are very poorly edited, and by now, the third edition is long out of date. I would never use it as my sole source of information on a place, but it's a wonderful way to get a quick idea of what's happening where, and what you might have to do if you're unlucky enough to find yourself there.