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Shoshana, June 21, 2008

Take a close look at the cover of this book. It shows men walking hyenas and (perhaps gibbons).

I bought this book because of the juxtaposition of the title and the cover image. It seemed to promise that the places I don't want to visit might include the situation pictured on the cover, or at least something like it. However, the cover has nothing to do with the contents of the book. The source of the image is listed as Scamorama.com. Scamorama is a site devoted to instances of advance fee fraud, e.g., those e-mails you get from Nigeria that begin "Beloved Friend" and attempt to induce you to assist with a million dollar transaction. A link from Scamorama's main page takes one to this photo and several others of Nigerian men walking hyenas. A link from that page takes one to photos and a link to an essay about a small group of entertainers who are hyena handlers. What does any of this have to do with advance fee fraud? Nothing. More to the point, what does any of this, including the photo, have to do with No Holiday: 80 Places You Don't Want to Visit... A Disinformation Travel Guide? Nothing. The reasons you don't want to travel to the 80 destinations are politics, economies, and pollution. Though a scant few reasons not to travel are related to abhorrent cultural practices (such as throwing a goat off the top of a church), these examples are not the main focus of the book. Further, the 2-page section on Nigeria has nothing to do with this photo. Why not a photo of something that has to do with the book? Perhaps because this photo is more interesting than the book.

Leaving aside what the book seemed to promise and focusing instead on what it is, it is still disappointing. The content is often interesting, but highly repetitive. Summary: The US, Britain, and Israel are very bad and less powerful cultures would never wage war or civil war, commit fraud against their citizens, or pollute if not seduced or coerced into doing so by countries such as the US and Britain. The subheadings that describe the focus of each section are in small print and do not always match the table of contents, nor is the prose style of the table of contents internally consistent. The photos, most of which are public domain or from Wikipedia Commons, are black and white and uncaptioned, making it difficult at times to associate them with the section they illustrate.

I've enjoyed browsing though some of The Disinformation Company's other titles, but Cohen's poor writing interferes with my reading. Here are two samples:

"In 2004 the international press picked up the story in the Swaziland newspapers of the King's latest request to the country's parliament for $15 million. Purchased in time for Christmas that same year, a Daimler-Chrysler car equipped not only with television but more importantly a DVD player, refrigerator and solid silver champagne service is truly a sight worth seeing. Even though much of the money spent on the building and upkeep of those Royal Palaces eventually goes to Swazilanders, or maybe Filipinos. Poor people anyway."

"When Serbian nationalism, historically the spark for the great bloodletting of what Europeans call 'The Great War' of 1914-18, spluttered back into life (after lying dormant under the iron rule of President Tito's communists), a lot of people preferred to 'look the other way.'"

One's fingers itch for the red pen throughout. I don't disagree with much of Cohen's data, and can usually appreciate his interpretation even if I don't agree with it. However, the book cries out for better editing. While I'm wishing, I will wish for a relevant cover photo as well.

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