Robert Young PeltonReseñas

As capable of some literary brilliance as he is of embroidering his texts, the only constant is his ability to go to the right place at the right time and make contact with interesting characters either big or unknown.

One can read the Sierra Leone story as a reflection on African wars and intervention, by either the UN or PMCs. The Chechnya one is the best IMHO, full on war, closed borders, POWs, religious fanatics, cold, hospitality, good cars, bad cars, artillery barrages, a dystopian city, narrow escapes ...

And with Bougainville comes the lowest point of the book, that section is half interview and analysis of the main characters behind Sandline (PMC) and half regular war correspondent story on the action on the island itself. As such it neither excels at one or the other.

Being Australian and living in one of the safest countries on earth, one can get complacent about danger. So, it's always an education to open "The World's Most Dangerous Places" to a random page and see what the poor people in any given country have to deal with on a daily basis.

"The World's Most Dangerous Places" lists a range of countries and areas one would be best to avoid and the myriad reasons for avoiding them. Interestingly, I've been to ten of the countries listed as dangerous and survived visiting them all so I don't know if that makes me a hardened traveller or just particularly lucky.

Young Pelton sometimes sounds like he's bragging about all the dangers he's seen and I can imagine that if you were to meet him at the pub, his stories would get a bit tiresome after a while. So much better all round if you get the book and read at your pleasure.½

They should issue this to every US Marine! Provides fantastic insights into those you will meet, learn their culture, their customs, issues that might be of concern, and then you can...Perfect addition to "Tough tools for a tough world!"A great book. Semper Fi!

The first part of this big tome is a crash course in street smarts fro dangerous places, which can be anywhere. That's followed by several hundred pages of description for the most dangerous countries, such as Yemen, Columbia, and Russia. The first part is fast-moving and engaging. Pelton mixes true anecdotes with practical advice. The second part is long and intended more as a reference, though he does include stories for each location. I found the second part challenging because this version is from several years ago and many of the circumstances have changed.

An interesting book, and though I have some trust of Pelton's expertise in the area and know this isn't a standard cut-and-dry history area where there are many documents floating around and people to be interviewed, I'd appreciate a little bit of it. It raises many questions about the future of standard national combat armies that would be of interest to anyone interested in politics or history. A heavy tale, but light and readable prose.

Some people choose to travel in places less wandered. This is the book for them. Think of this as a travel book for places you wouldn't typically think to vacation in - and exactly how you would want to go about it. A who's who list of seedy places around the world, Pelton takes the time to quickly run thru the area's history - telling you where you most definitely should not want to go - and laying out exactly what puts the country on the questionable list It may surprise some to learn that the US is indeed on Pelton's infamous list - but after reading it you realize it's not much of a stretch to see that America can indeed be a dangerous place.

I almost didn't buy it. When I picked it up it looked more like a dictionary for travelers from the State Department than it did a novel. However, I plunged in and boy was I glad. Gritty reality - for each country what kind of bugs and parasites, can you bribe officials, how to get out of the country in a hurry, who is most likely to kill you, etc. As a result it kind of read like William Vollmann meets Special Forces. Highly recommend this one, and stick with it.½

One of the most poorly edited books I've ever read. The grammatical and spelling errors are legion. The author should sue the publisher for malpractice.½

A second-rate version of Robert Kaplan's To The Ends of The Earth, but still worth reading.½

I don't want to visit Afghanistan or Liberia, but I enjoy reading about what you need to know for the trip. "If you don't like what you read or want a better description, please send a certified check to the author for $500,000 and include the corrections, additions, or adjectives you feel describe your rebel group, manifesto, or leadership more accurately."

Travel > Safety measures/Travel > Anecdotes