YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE YESTERDAY

by Lewis De Fries ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 17, 1986

Everything that can go wrong and more in the life of one of the doyens of travel writers are described with wit and irreverence in this memoir. De Fries is an editor of the London Express and he has survived mosquitoes, drunks, assassins, bunglers, hostiles of all ethnic varieties, predatory females, indigestible meals and large doses of ennui in pursuit of his craft. If you think the life of a travel writer is a dream job, then you are in for a rude jolt of reality. It is an existence full of tension and chaos and as risky as a sail on a stormy day. The author gives us the reverse side of the glamorous and carefree vacation from the professional's point of view. As a veteran evaluator of hotels, restaurants, tour packages and island paradises who goes where he's sent, the picture would be grim indeed except for his unfailing sense of humor. Once, he was almost assassinated by a thug hired by a jealous wife because he was the only ""foreigner"" in a hotel and thus presumed to be the philandering hubby. Fortunately, the hit man did his homework and De Fries escaped unscathed. He, of course, did not recommend this particular spa to his loyal readers, who never realized what he had saved them from. The tour packagers were miffed and fatuously unaware that their service was not only lacking, but a trifle dangerous. Relentessly sane, civilized and equable (though on occasion stand-firm in defense of his fellow tourists), the author is an amusing raconteur whose idea of a good vacation is to snug up in his home in Sussex. If you're envious of his gig, he'll dissuade you, but in the end he'll reluctantly admit that he wouldn't have missed his hectic adventures for the world. A tour de force in SNAFU-land.

Pub Date: June 17, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Quartet--dist. by Salem

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION