Chuck Thompson

From Bangkok to Bogotá, a hilarious behind-the-brochures tour of picture-perfect locales, dangerous destinations, and overrated hellholes from a guy who knows the truth about travel Travel writer, editor, and photographer Chuck Thompson has spent more than a decade traipsing through thirty-five (and counting) countries across the globe, and he's had enough. Enough of the half-truths demanded by magazine editors, enough of the endlessly recycled clichés regarded as good travel writing, and enough of the ugly secrets fiercely guarded by the travel industry. But mostly, he's had enough of returning home from assignments and leaving the most interesting stories and the most provocative insights on the editing-room floor. From getting swindled in Thailand to running afoul of customs inspectors in Belarus, from defusing hostile Swedish rockers backstage in Germany to a closed-door meeting with travel execs telling him why he's about to be fired once again, Thompson's no-holds-barred style is refreshing, invigorating, and all those other adjectives travel writers use to describe spa vacations where the main attraction is a daily colonic. Smile When You're Lying takes readers on an irresistible series of adventures in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and beyond; details the effects of globalization on the casual traveler and ponders the future of travel as we know it; and offers up a treasure trove of travel-industry secrets collected throughout a decidedly speckled career.

Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer

Smile When You're Lying

a Northern manifesto for Southern secession

Better off without 'em

The guru of extreme tourism sets out to face his worst fears in Africa, India, Mexico City, and—most terrifying of all—at Disney World In the widely-acclaimed Smile When You're Lying, Chuck Thompson laid bare the travel industry's dirtiest secrets. Now he's out to discover if some of the world's most ill-reputed destinations live up to their bad raps, while confronting a few of his own travel anxieties in the process. Whether he's traveling across the Congo with a former bodyguard from notorious dictator Joseph Mobutu's retinue or diving into the heart of India's monsoon season, To Hellholes and Back delivers Thompson's trademark combination of hilarious stories and wildly provocative opinions, as well as some surprising observations about America's evolving place in the world.

Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism

To Hellholes and Back

"Status was once easy to identify: fast cars, fancy shoes, sprawling estates, elite brands. But in place of Louboutins and Lamborghinis, the relevance of the rich, famous, and gauche is waning and a riveting revolution is underfoot. Why do dog owners boast about their rescues, but quietly apologize for their purebreds? Why do people brag about their grinding workweeks? Why are so many billionaires anxious to give (some of) their money away rather than hoard it? In The Status Revolution, Chuck Thompson ... sets out to determine what 'status' means today and learns that what was once considered the low life has become the high life"--

The Improbable Story of How the Lowbrow Became the Highbrow

The Status Revolution

"How did rescue dogs become status symbols? Why are luxury brands losing their cachet? What's made F. Scott Fitzgerald's most famous observations obsolete? The answers are part of a new revolution that's radically reorganizing the way we view ourselves and others. Status was once easy to identify-fast cars, fancy shoes, sprawling estates, elite brands. But in place of Louboutins and Lamborghinis, the relevance of the rich, famous, and gauche is waning and a riveting revolution is underfoot. Why do dog owners boast about their rescues, but quietly apologize for their purebreds? Why do people brag about their grinding workweeks? Why are so many billionaires anxious to give (some of) their money away rather than hoard it? In The Status Revolution, Chuck Thompson-dubbed "savagely funny" by The New York Times and "wickedly entertaining" by the San Francisco Chronicle-sets out to determine what "status" means today and learns that what was once considered the low life has become the high life. In The Status Revolution, Thompson tours the new world of status from a small community in British Columbia where an indigenous artist uses wood carving to restore communal status; to a Washington, DC, meeting of the "Patriotic Millionaires," a club of high-earners who are begging the government to tax them; to a luxury auto factory in the south of Italy where making beautiful cars is as much about bringing dignity to a low-earning region than it is about flash and indulgence; to a London lab where the neural secrets of status are being unlocked. "This isn't a book about designer brands or orgies of overindulgence," Thompson writes. "Even if I cared about them, the preferences of the rich, famous, and gauche have already been covered more exhaustively than a guy in my tax bracket could ever hope to fake." With his signature wit and irreverence, Thompson explains why everything we know about status is changing, upends centuries of conventional wisdom, and shows how the new status revolution reflects our place in contemporary society"--

The Improbable Story of how the Low Brow Became the High Brow

You want a deeper relationship with God. And you know God wants a deeper relationship with you. But how are you supposed to make that happen? After all, you have to get the kids to their activities, pay the bills, buy groceries, return emails, work overtime, and update your Facebook status. Who has time for prayer or a moment of meditation? In Busy and Blessed: 10 Simple Steps for Parents Seeking Peace, Deacon Chuck Thompson helps parents balance the craziness of raising children and the need for spiritual peace. Woven within a fictional tale about a deacon in Chicago and a mysterious visitor named Francis, these simple and inspiring steps are intended to transform your attitude and change your life as a parent and spiritual seeker. As you incorporate each of the steps into your daily life, you will find yourself listening for God's message in every activity and disruption-and living a more peaceful life because of it. Whatever is keeping you from building a deeper relationship with God throughout your busy day, you will find your solution in these pages.

Busy and Blessed: 10 Simple Steps for Parents Seeking Peace

Coming of age during the Vietnam War, Mike McCurry decides to join the U.S. Army rather than be drafted or take a fl ight to Canada. He is assigned to the Army Security Agency and begins a life of covert operation as a voice interceptor. In the late 1960s, McCurry arrives at Teufelsberg, a super-secret listening station in West Berlin. McCurry and his fellow operatives have direct access to some of the most sensitive conversations of top offi cials of the East German government's Central Committee in East Berlin. Unfortunately, McCurry's group of interpreters and analysts are supervised by regular Army personnel, who have no idea of the tasks being carried out by those under their command. McCurry's supervisors are more interested in how their troops perform on the drill field than how they are fulfilling their assigned intelligence mission, and that doesn't sit well with McCurry when national security is at stake. It doesn't take him long to recognize that it will require a combination of guile and humor to overcome the obstacles put in his path by clueless supervisors. But the incompetence of the leadership ultimately becomes deadly, forcing McCurry to make a choice between following orders ... or facing a court martial.

Mccurry's War

It's not every day you witness someone's brains blown out over the scorching desert sand, much less survive a meteorite strike. This day has included both.The media manipulates, politicians lie, banks steal and the world is not what you've been taught to believe it is by those in power, the education system or even your parents. We were once endless possibilities, now we are the property of limited liability companies. And nobody has bothered to inform you.There is an alternative to the reality you think you know. There is another side to life. Beneath what you have seen and experienced, behind the artificial and illusory constructs of social media and its fabricated fantasies lies the dirty, deranged and downright desperate. From psychotic Samurai swordsmen in Swansea, shotgun-wielding cockney cowboys in London's seedier suburbs, hashish hallucinations in the sun-blasted desert of the Middle East to a seemingly never-ending flow of spice under Tokyo's neon night sky... step into the shadows, travel the globe and explore the less frequented corners of society and the human psyche.This is not a journey for the politically correct or faint of heart. This reality requires more than just a TripAdvisor review and a Google translate app. This trip requires a thirst for raw knowledge, a total disregard for the law and an appetite for radically altered states of consciousness. Or possibly just a lack of common sense when you're surrounded by chaos and danger where death could be your final destination. Enter Chuck Thompson's world, witness his reality and let him show you the life less travelled.

The Traveller

Alan S. Davis

A traveler's guide to most entertaining spots in North America and Mexico features insider tips, three-day itineraries, and quick-reference guides to the best hotels, restaurants, and nightlife. Original.

The Ultimate Travel Guide to the Most Fun Events & Destinations

The Fun Seeker's North America

Follow the footsteps of history with the world's first and only comprehensive guide covering the entire Pacific Theater. Directions to everything from jungle relics and city museums to landing beaches and hallowed battlefields. More than 500 individual points of interest and detailed histories. With maps of all sites and more than 40 color photos. In-depth travel information and Insider tips. Accommodations close to major sites and spectacular beaches. Never before documented sites. For the casual traveler or dedicated war buff, this unique, all-encompassing guide is an essential part of any trip to Asia or the Pacific. Meticulous, up-to-date research makes getting to sites easy, leaving plenty of time to enjoy the beaches and other fabled attractions of some of the most beautiful islands and vibrant cities in the world.

Pacific Theater: The Ultimate Traveler's Guide to the Battlefields, Monuments and Museums

The 25 Best World War II Sites

Gordon Beard

Hall of Fame broadcaster Chuck Thompson, with the assistance of veteran Associated Press sportswriter Gordon Beard, shares a personal play-by-play account of his celebrated career and life in this newly updated paperback edition of Ain't the Beer Cold! Since his broadcasting beginnings fresh out of high school in 1939, Thompson has served with the Armed Forces in World War II, relaxed as a one-man audience for a crooning Bing Crosby, and done sportscasting for the Phillies, A's, Senators, and Orioles. In 1993, Thompson's broadcasting achievement was honored with a place in the Broadcasters' Wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Here he offers a delightful and insightful perspective on his profession, its people, and its place in the heart of American sports.

Ain't the Beer Cold!

Chuck Thompson—dubbed "savagely funny" by The New York Times and "wickedly entertaining" by the San Francisco Chronicle—spent two years traveling the American South to determine whether, as he’d long suspected but not yet proven, the whole country might be better off letting Dixieland make good on its two-hundred-years-old threat to secede. The result is a long overdue and serious inquiry into national divides that is deliberately provocative and uproariously funny while making a compelling case for "a kind of no-fault divorce for nation-states: no hard feelings, just two adults who can’t quite make the relationship work, shaking hands and walking away" (The Oxford American).

A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession

Better Off Without 'Em

Describes the author's road trip investigation into the cultural divide of the United States during which he met possum-hunting conservatives and prayer warriors before concluding that both sides might benefit if the South seceded.

Chuck Thompson

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