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!

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. The 5th Edition is even better than the earlier version that I distributed to all the professional intelligence officers attending the annual Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) conference, so I am going to distribute the new improved version.

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.

My beef. Its a book written by men for men. An example: Pelton gives tips about how to dress -- but not for women! More seriously, some countries don't give visas to women travelling alone, others don't give visas to unmarried women, some countries permit entry but don't allow women to drive, etc. but such basic information is nowhere given. Travelling as a woman (either alone, because some of the places described are really not very dangerous, such as Israel or South Africa, or with others) is in itself a different kind of experience. One is shielded from some dangers, but very vulnerable to others: the upshot, from the 'danger' view point is that some places are horrifyingly dangerous for women, particularly for unaccompanied white women, and others are not dangerous at all, provided one doesn't try to meet warlords, buy guns, seek out sensitive information, impose one's viewpoint or lifestyle, etc. Perhaps someone could write just a short extra chapter? I'd certainly appreciate it.