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Lonely Planet writer admits he never visited country he wrote about
Most people who have taken guidebooks on the road realize that they're bound to contain a few inaccuracies. But did you ever consider that the guidebook's author had never even been to the place he wrote about?
An Australian newspaper reported this weekend that a Lonely Planet guidebook writer named Thomas Kohnstamm has admitted to fabricating large parts of his books. The writer even copped to not having actually visited Colombia, a country he covered for the well-known guidebook publisher.
So how did Kohnstamm write the Colombia guidebook without visiting the country first? "I got the information from a chick I was dating-- an intern at the Colombian consulate," says Kohnstamm. "They didn't pay me enough to go to Colombia. I wrote the book in San Francisco."
Kohnstamm also confesses that he plagiarized large parts of the guidebooks, and accepted free meals and lodging on the road, a clear violation of LP policy.
The author covered a number of countries for Lonely Planet, including Brazil, Venezuela, Chile, the Caribbean, and Colombia. Well, maybe not Colombia. The big-wigs over at Lonely Planet say they're scrutinizing everything Kohnstamm has written for them, but have not yet found any mistakes.
No mistakes? Hmm, that does sound fishy.
(Thanks, Neil!)###
More Gadling writers sound off on the Lonely Planet problem:
- 5 reasons to be outraged by the Lonely Planet fraud
- Thoughts on the Lonely Planet scandal: Guidebooks are a sham
- 'Unethical' Lonely Planet author not really that unethical after all, though he wants us to think so for the sake of promoting his own book
- Choice reviews of Lonely Planet: Colombia from Amazon.com
- From World Hum: Read an interview with Thomas Kohnstamm.
- Does Thomas Kohnstamm deserve an apology?
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Colombia
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eva Apr 13th 2008 9:25AM
Note that his book - "Do Travel Writers Go To Hell? A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics and Professional Hedonism" - is due out any day now... I guess he is a subscriber to the "there's no such thing as bad publicity" school of thought?
Questionable ethics, indeed.
Matthew Firestone Apr 13th 2008 10:30AM
As a Lonely Planet writer who actually visits the places he writes about, let me be the first to say that there are still a few of us out there who still do the job we sign up for.
Bob Johnson Apr 13th 2008 10:48AM
Maybe that super hottie Megan McCormick should write the books when she travels for the Globe Trekker shows.
Leif Apr 13th 2008 11:40AM
As another Lonely Planet author, I'd like to add that no one was holding a gun to his head. If he felt he was not being paid enough money for the Columbia job and he was incapable of logically producing evidence for an upward adjustment in fee (each LP author negotiates a fee for each job – we're freelancers working on a contract-by-contract basis, so nothing is fixed) he could have simply said 'no'. Why on Earth accept a job that you don't feel is paying enough? It makes no sense. Though it sounds as if ethics and sense are not this guy's strong suits.
Nick Hawkins Apr 13th 2008 3:20PM
So were you guys selling drugs too to make ends meet? ;)
Jeff Apr 14th 2008 12:39AM
I'm one of the people who tried to use this LP guide to Colombia last year. I thought at the time that the book was much below the standards of LP and certainly didn't compare to the very good LP mid-1990s edition to Colombia by a different author, which was much more extensive. So much of the last edition seemed randomly pulled together. Now I understand why. Too bad Kohnstamm missed out on such an interesting country to visit.
Rory Boland Apr 14th 2008 7:35AM
As another Guidebook contributor, although not to Lonely Planet, I think publishers also need to learn a lesson from this. You get what you pay for. If they continue to squeeze rates, quality is going to continue to decline.
Lonely Planet writer writes Colombia guidebook, doesn't bother with visiting the country
Zora O'Neill Apr 14th 2008 5:36PM
I'm another LP author who actually does the work. But I've also read Kohnstamm's book, and of course his story is more nuanced than what's in the press. I also know that his Colombia gig was defined by LP as a desk job--the company did not expect him to go there, and the budget reflected that. I suspect that context got cut away from his quote, for better tabloid effect.
I'd say more, but I'm on a research trip right now...must get back to the hotel-touring grind.
Bobby Apr 15th 2008 11:17AM
I think he should win a Pulitzer, he did all this from his desk ad lib & they can't find any inaccuracies. I'd say "pretty good" on Kohnstamm. Of course I'm cutting up but you have to hand it to him in a way. The executives had to love the low budget take while fooling the general public. As far as I'm concerned, all journalism deserves a second look. I believe very little of what I read anymore unless my instincts & intellect tell me it's the truth....
robin Apr 17th 2008 6:30PM
ANYONE RESPOND
G OING TO UTILA AND ROATAN ON MAY 10TH ANY ONE WHO HAS TRAVELED E- MAIL ME W/ EASY WAY TO GO TO RUINS ON HONDURAS/IS MALARY PILLS REQUIRED AND WHAT NOT TO BRING BACK IN THE WAY OF SHOPPING/WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR AS COOL PLACES NOT TO MISS-WILL BE MOSTLY DIVING FOR 11 DAYS BUT WANT OTHER THINGS SINCE I WANT TO KNOW BEST DEEP FISHING CHARTERS ECT ANY INFO DEEPLY APRECIATE
Blake Evans-Pritchard Aug 27th 2008 1:03PM
Seems like a blatantly cheap publicity stunt to me. It is difficult to make a living as a full-time guidebook author, but not impossible.
We have just set up a guidebook publishing company (City Trail Publishing) with the idea of trying to pay authors at a fairer rate. It is difficult to do this as a newcomer to the market, but I particularly agree with Rory Boland's comment. But it can be very difficult to do this as a newcomer to the market.
James Nov 2nd 2009 3:25AM
And now the LP people say that El Salvador is better than Australia!! WTF?
The charms of deep poverty and crime were too much against the beauty of the Great Barrier and the iconic Opera Hose...
Quick, tell the Sri Lankan refugees Australia is not good enough and better go to El Salvador!
LOL