What do you think?
Rate this book
Dark Lands
Greedy Lords, dubious heroes, wicked relations and innocents in peril - today's world sounds like a grim fairytale!
Travelling along the infamous 'Axis of Evil' led to Tony Wheeler's Bad Lands - now he's going deeper into the world's darkest corners to explore a rogue's gallery of troubled nations.
Every country has its problems, but some problems seem so vexed, so intractable, so absurd, you can only shake your head. Tony Wheeler trains his well-travelled eyes on some of these places and attempts to understand how things got so messed up. Along the way he gets stoned (with the thrown variety) in Palestine, scores a speeding ticket in Zimbabwe, gets arrested for photographing a bar in the Congo, and visits Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad in Pakistan. Join Tony and find out if there's a happily-ever-after in these tales from the dark side.
Travelling along the infamous 'Axis of Evil' led to Tony Wheeler's Bad Lands - now he's going deeper into the world's darkest corners to explore a rogue's gallery of troubled nations.
Every country has its problems, but some problems seem so vexed, so intractable, so absurd, you can only shake your head. Tony Wheeler trains his well-travelled eyes on some of these places and attempts to understand how things got so messed up. Along the way he gets stoned (with the thrown variety) in Palestine, scores a speeding ticket in Zimbabwe, gets arrested for photographing a bar in the Congo, and visits Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad in Pakistan. Join Tony and find out if there's a happily-ever-after in these tales from the dark side.
335 pages, Paperback
First published August 16, 2013
45 people are currently reading
275 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
January 1, 2014
This was a really underwhelming read. You get the strong impression that Tony Wheeler only went to these countries in order to write this book - there's a sort of ticky-box mentality. Really good travel writers are also investigators - they're visiting a place to learn more about it, or to explore, or even to confirm their own biases and beliefs. Wheeler visited just to check it off his list. This is also reflected in the way he travels - we don't see very many interactions with regular people. He stays in the nicest available hotel, eats the nicest available food, name-drops to get out of trouble, and travels around with a tour guide (and sometimes a whole group). He goes to these fascinating and sometimes dangerous places, but only skims the surface.
The writing is not descriptive - you won't get a good sense of what these places look or smell or taste like - and his accounts tend to read like lists of the things he did. "We landed at this airport, ate fish for lunch, met my friend so and so and he drove me around. Then I went to bed in my hotel." I mean...who cares? There's no insight. It reads like one of those emails people on Fulbrights send home to their friends. (Which I love reading, friends! But I don't pay for those.)
He does do a good job giving some history of each of the places, but if you're familiar with the history already (I am), it's not going to be anything new. It's not a whole lot more than you'll get from a good Wikipedia page, in any case.
A lot of travel writers are obnoxious or pretentious or whatever, but that's at least entertaining. This was just boring. Two stars for the very readable prose - I knocked this out in a few hours.
The writing is not descriptive - you won't get a good sense of what these places look or smell or taste like - and his accounts tend to read like lists of the things he did. "We landed at this airport, ate fish for lunch, met my friend so and so and he drove me around. Then I went to bed in my hotel." I mean...who cares? There's no insight. It reads like one of those emails people on Fulbrights send home to their friends. (Which I love reading, friends! But I don't pay for those.)
He does do a good job giving some history of each of the places, but if you're familiar with the history already (I am), it's not going to be anything new. It's not a whole lot more than you'll get from a good Wikipedia page, in any case.
A lot of travel writers are obnoxious or pretentious or whatever, but that's at least entertaining. This was just boring. Two stars for the very readable prose - I knocked this out in a few hours.
November 1, 2022
Great read about places that are not usually covered in travellers books. Esp. interesting is Australia immigration prison in the Pacific -Nauru. Sad to see so few things have changed since the book was written in 2013
December 8, 2015
A book about the author's travels to 8 countries with serious problems; Colombia, D.R. Congo, Haiti, Israel/Palestine, Nauru, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and Zimbabwe.
Many of these are countries which you don't hear very much about. Surrounded in the "travel" section by scores of books about France and Italy, a book like this will always grab my attention. He does a pretty good job of relating a concise history of each country's troubles, and showing what it's like to be a traveler there (often impeded by local bureaucracy, but never as dangerous as one might fear).
On the down side, the chapters are too short for him to go much into depth about any one country. The narrative dwells too much on dull minutiae; where Wheeler stayed, what he ate, how he went from Point A to Point B, and so forth. And the strained conceit with which he attempts to link the chapters together- he begins each chapter by comparing each country and its particular woes to a fairy tale- is entirely dispensable.
That doesn't mean it's a bad book; it has its good points. But I'd only recommend it to people who have a healthy curiosity about other countries, and have little to no knowledge of the 8 countries in question. And those readers will find themselves skimming over some dull parts of the narrative.
Many of these are countries which you don't hear very much about. Surrounded in the "travel" section by scores of books about France and Italy, a book like this will always grab my attention. He does a pretty good job of relating a concise history of each country's troubles, and showing what it's like to be a traveler there (often impeded by local bureaucracy, but never as dangerous as one might fear).
On the down side, the chapters are too short for him to go much into depth about any one country. The narrative dwells too much on dull minutiae; where Wheeler stayed, what he ate, how he went from Point A to Point B, and so forth. And the strained conceit with which he attempts to link the chapters together- he begins each chapter by comparing each country and its particular woes to a fairy tale- is entirely dispensable.
That doesn't mean it's a bad book; it has its good points. But I'd only recommend it to people who have a healthy curiosity about other countries, and have little to no knowledge of the 8 countries in question. And those readers will find themselves skimming over some dull parts of the narrative.
July 14, 2022
3.5 stars for this read. It was entertaining, yet somewhat educational, and mainly made me want to have the financial opportunity to visit some of the mentioned places in the book one day. Well-written, but from time to time a bit dull in long unnecessary explanations.
April 10, 2015
Each chapter is a travel essay on a country considered a 'dark land' based on being troubled or failed.
Colombia, Congo DR, Haiti, Israel/Palestine, Nauru, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea & Zimbabwe made the list for this book - his follow up to Bad Lands.
It isn't great story telling, there is a lot of seeing the things that need to be seen (a little like Lonely Planet guidebook following in general I guess), but there is good summary information on the history of the places he visits, which is pretty well explained without taking too much space in the book.
The comparison to fairy tales for each country didn't really work for me, it felt a bit contrived, trying to make it fit, but that was only a sentence for each chapter, so no big deal.
Overall, still an interesting read.
Colombia, Congo DR, Haiti, Israel/Palestine, Nauru, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea & Zimbabwe made the list for this book - his follow up to Bad Lands.
It isn't great story telling, there is a lot of seeing the things that need to be seen (a little like Lonely Planet guidebook following in general I guess), but there is good summary information on the history of the places he visits, which is pretty well explained without taking too much space in the book.
The comparison to fairy tales for each country didn't really work for me, it felt a bit contrived, trying to make it fit, but that was only a sentence for each chapter, so no big deal.
Overall, still an interesting read.
January 8, 2019
I like to rate this 2.5 stars. The author, has been to many of the places in Dark Land before some years ago and he makes comparisons of his personal experiences that time with his latest visit which is interesting. Book is informative, but the narrative style lacks a rytham of a travelogue.
But it was surprising to note that author had spent few years in Pakistan during his childhood and has vivid memories.
But it was surprising to note that author had spent few years in Pakistan during his childhood and has vivid memories.
September 7, 2022
DNF. I think this is one of those books where you really don't judge it by its cover. Thought it would be a lovely vicarious read at night-time, but I couldn't bring myself to finish it. After Colombia, I dropped the book and went on to my next read. I found it difficult to continue because probably I had an expectation that there will be more vivid descriptions of the travels, and there is... but the writing was lazy.
June 21, 2019
This is a collection of travel stories of Lonely Planet co-founder, Tony Wheeler's travels to countries most people don't go to, because of their trouble past and present.
The image of the rolling gorilla in the Congo, and the tale of Digicel funding schools and teachers in Haiti. The border crossing into and out of Pakistan, some quirky travel tales.
The Israel-Palestine chapter is probably the highlight. An insight into traveling independently across the two states, and an explanation from an outsiders perspective on the current (at the time) balance and imbalance of the conflicting communities. Reading how Tony navigates his time there, the crossovers, and stories he collects are an addition to a interest in better understand of the area.
The Nauru chapter was interesting to me, because he clearly visited around a year before I worked there. The recap of thr ludicrous financial history of this tiny Pacific nation was as sad as the comparison and lack of change from Tony's Nauru to what I experienced. And that the refugees still held there by Australia continue to endure.
I do think my year of reading just female voices has changed the way I tolerate men's voices - this is a travel collection, and it's all facts, history notes, and a diary of where Tony stayed. But really I want the feminine/feminist perspective - what do the people do, and think about their country and their lives, and the future. I did skip over parts of description in most section, for this reason.
The image of the rolling gorilla in the Congo, and the tale of Digicel funding schools and teachers in Haiti. The border crossing into and out of Pakistan, some quirky travel tales.
The Israel-Palestine chapter is probably the highlight. An insight into traveling independently across the two states, and an explanation from an outsiders perspective on the current (at the time) balance and imbalance of the conflicting communities. Reading how Tony navigates his time there, the crossovers, and stories he collects are an addition to a interest in better understand of the area.
The Nauru chapter was interesting to me, because he clearly visited around a year before I worked there. The recap of thr ludicrous financial history of this tiny Pacific nation was as sad as the comparison and lack of change from Tony's Nauru to what I experienced. And that the refugees still held there by Australia continue to endure.
I do think my year of reading just female voices has changed the way I tolerate men's voices - this is a travel collection, and it's all facts, history notes, and a diary of where Tony stayed. But really I want the feminine/feminist perspective - what do the people do, and think about their country and their lives, and the future. I did skip over parts of description in most section, for this reason.
October 24, 2024
This is a sequel of sorts to Tony Wheeler's Bad Lands: A Tourist on the Axis of Evil. The Dark Lands are the purgatory to the hell of the Bad Lands. Not quite bad enough to make it into the Axis of Evil, but far too bad to be on the regular tourism circuit (at least in 2013).
Based on Tony's reporting, it's a bit of a shame that people don't visit these places. For example, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Pakistan have many world-class attractions, (once you get past the mugging, the extortion, and the roadblocks). Since Tony did his travels about ten years ago, some of these places I suspect have improved (Colombia, Zimbabwe), but Israel and Palestine have descended into absolute no-goes right now.
It's a bit of a disjointed collection of travel memoirs, loosely held together with nothing more than Tony himself. He is undoubtedly a bold traveller and we vicariously benefit. Some chapters are more engaging than others. My favourite was probably PNG, mainly because it seems so near, and yet so far from Australia. I loved his description of entering the 'right' way by crossing the channel by boat from the Solomon Islands - only to be unable to officially immigrate.
An education into some places most of us are unlikely to visit.
Based on Tony's reporting, it's a bit of a shame that people don't visit these places. For example, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Pakistan have many world-class attractions, (once you get past the mugging, the extortion, and the roadblocks). Since Tony did his travels about ten years ago, some of these places I suspect have improved (Colombia, Zimbabwe), but Israel and Palestine have descended into absolute no-goes right now.
It's a bit of a disjointed collection of travel memoirs, loosely held together with nothing more than Tony himself. He is undoubtedly a bold traveller and we vicariously benefit. Some chapters are more engaging than others. My favourite was probably PNG, mainly because it seems so near, and yet so far from Australia. I loved his description of entering the 'right' way by crossing the channel by boat from the Solomon Islands - only to be unable to officially immigrate.
An education into some places most of us are unlikely to visit.
December 27, 2019
A kind of sequel for "Bad Lands" (2010) though I haven't read that prequel.
.
What would you do if you have some odds on visiting Colombia, Zimbabwe, Congo, Pakistan, Israel-Palestine's Border, Haiti, Nauru and Papua New Guinea?
.
At the first hand, your closest families yet colleagues will prevent you from going there. But the lands truly offering adrenaline experiences, not in manly nor macho kinds.
.
The inconvenience truth, people, facilities will be the ordinary scenery along the trip. But this backpacker's Saint always has found a way of describing those dark lands as "touristy" sites.
.
The story from Nauru and Haiti will rip off your conscience. As long your still keeping your consciences.
.
What would you do if you have some odds on visiting Colombia, Zimbabwe, Congo, Pakistan, Israel-Palestine's Border, Haiti, Nauru and Papua New Guinea?
.
At the first hand, your closest families yet colleagues will prevent you from going there. But the lands truly offering adrenaline experiences, not in manly nor macho kinds.
.
The inconvenience truth, people, facilities will be the ordinary scenery along the trip. But this backpacker's Saint always has found a way of describing those dark lands as "touristy" sites.
.
The story from Nauru and Haiti will rip off your conscience. As long your still keeping your consciences.
October 25, 2024
Dark Lands by Tony Wheeler explores countries that are often in the news for negative reasons, and it has a unique focus on places that most tourists avoid. I was interested in Wheeler’s idea of showing the human side of these regions, but I found the book a bit disappointing. The story jumps from one country to another quickly, and I felt it missed details about culture or history that could have made it richer. While there were a few good moments, overall, I’d rate it a 3 out of 5.
January 8, 2022
The writing did NOT have me visualizing the various places he visited. I was excited to read about Columbia because a coworker I really enjoy working with is from there. Same with Papua New Guinea. Very verbose blah, blah, blah writing. I gave it three stars because I did learn things. And now to go find another book about these places in hopes better writing.
May 4, 2025
I like Tony wheeler. How can be different for The founder of lonely planet? And i also feel him similar to me when his wife tells him” You are a stupid old man that wants to do things for boys”. However i did not give 5 stars because he seems a bit angry with The other people but perhaps he is me again 😀
February 12, 2018
I wish I loved this. I appreciate the historical insights Tony gives the reader, but I find that I don't really get immersed in his own adventures - he almost doesn't give the reader enough enthusiasm to care.
November 14, 2021
Amazing insight into some of the world's unfriendliest places from a political point of view. Very well written so that you think you're really there. On some level it makes you want to go travelling again but at the same time, you're glad you're not where Tony was. A fascinating read.
December 20, 2021
An informative read about 'failed' countries from a sympathetic author. An obvious gremlin putting Mutare in the western part of Zimbabwe, but otherwise fairly accurate for the country I knows best of the visited places.
December 4, 2017
Fascinating and very well-written.
March 7, 2020
Started good and lost momentum.
August 7, 2020
Very long and repetitive descriptions, I skipped entire pages. Not entertaining at all, barely informative at the beginning of each chapter.
Would not recommend. I read 50% of it and gave up.
Would not recommend. I read 50% of it and gave up.
November 18, 2019
Descriptive
This is a book that will both peak your interest in the countries it covers and warn you off. The author chose a handful of countries to visit that are well known for dangerous politics and prevalent crime. His overviews of each country are quite detailed. In most cases there is a lot more information about country origin, political and economic history, and troubled times, than about his visit. Still, he clearly explores each place that he visits, hitting on monuments, national parks, hikes, restaurants, hotels, museums and the like. He shares travel tips and close calls. It's obvious his trips are exciting and out of the ordinary.
Though this guide makes me less inclined to visit any of these countries, I'm certainly more informed about them all than before I started. I do admire the author his tenacity, he was quite resourceful at making each of these trips the best that it could be.
Countries included in this volume were:
- Colombia
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Haiti
- Israel/Palestine
- Nauru
- Pakistan
- Papau New Guinea
- Zimbabwe
This is a book that will both peak your interest in the countries it covers and warn you off. The author chose a handful of countries to visit that are well known for dangerous politics and prevalent crime. His overviews of each country are quite detailed. In most cases there is a lot more information about country origin, political and economic history, and troubled times, than about his visit. Still, he clearly explores each place that he visits, hitting on monuments, national parks, hikes, restaurants, hotels, museums and the like. He shares travel tips and close calls. It's obvious his trips are exciting and out of the ordinary.
Though this guide makes me less inclined to visit any of these countries, I'm certainly more informed about them all than before I started. I do admire the author his tenacity, he was quite resourceful at making each of these trips the best that it could be.
Countries included in this volume were:
- Colombia
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Haiti
- Israel/Palestine
- Nauru
- Pakistan
- Papau New Guinea
- Zimbabwe
December 11, 2020
Within the "send your travel writer to the most dangerous / messed up / secretive / interesting places you can and have them write about their misadventures" genre. Kaplan's "Ends of the Earth" still the standard, though this kind of literature ages really, really fast and that book from the 90s seems like another Universe; this one from about 10 years ago is aging quick. This is a companion book to another Dark Lands book, that one was based on the "Axis of Evil" countries. This group isn't evil so much as just difficult to travel to - think Columbia (10 years ago), Congo, Papua New Guinea. Tony Wheeler's writing is entertaining enough if sometimes a little un-PC by American standards, and he's never hesitant to pass along a political opinion. During a time of being stuck at home, it's nice to think about traveling somewhere else.
June 2, 2014
This is a good book for those wanting to read about eight "Tier 2 Danger" countries, many of which do not get a lot of press. Basically the gist of the tome is "Places aren't as bad as they may appear, but they ain't great either". One of these countries, Papua New Guinea, I actually have experience with, and am happy to say he portrays that nation more or less accurately.
A couple of the chapters do bog down, however, with sometimes overbearing detail that doesn't add much to the picture he is trying to paint. Wheeler has a sense of humor, but it doesn't get displayed as often as it should here.
A couple of the chapters do bog down, however, with sometimes overbearing detail that doesn't add much to the picture he is trying to paint. Wheeler has a sense of humor, but it doesn't get displayed as often as it should here.
September 1, 2015
I quite enjoyed reading Bad Lands. There's some history, politics, humour and bits about one's travels. Which is what I want out of a book on travel. Wheeler makes most of the countries he visits seem relatively doable as a tourist destination. On the downside though, the book doesn't give us an in-depth look at the lives of people living in these places. The closest we get to them are a taxi driver, tour guide, etc. Looks like Wheeler simply put on his Lonely Planet hat with this one, not that of a "proper" travel writer/academic.
November 21, 2014
Here we have several anecdotal stories from famous Lonely Planet Writer, Tony Wheeler's travels to the dark lands of the world. If you're interested in current events of the world and how some places became twisted and corruoted, you may find something interesting here. He does tend to ramble though and at many times he wandered so much, I began to lose the point.
December 27, 2015
I enjoyed Tony's explanations over the countries history and his viewpoints, but the narration of his travels was a bit dull.
The 'I stayed in hotel X then took a car to Y' was uninteresting and his travel style definitely not on a shoestring anymore.
Nevertheless, a good reading if you like travel stories.
The 'I stayed in hotel X then took a car to Y' was uninteresting and his travel style definitely not on a shoestring anymore.
Nevertheless, a good reading if you like travel stories.
August 5, 2014
Sympa mais cela donne un peu trop une impression de "case à cocher"... Il fallait visiter des pays "infréquentables", ok, voilà qui est fait...
Sans oublier de citer le "Lonely Planet" au passage...
Bref, pas très convaincant tout cela...
On doit pouvoir se passer de cette lecture la...
Sans oublier de citer le "Lonely Planet" au passage...
Bref, pas très convaincant tout cela...
On doit pouvoir se passer de cette lecture la...
May 14, 2015
An excellent travel book! Journey through Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Israel, Palestine, Nauru, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe on the adventures of a lifetime. I need to visit all of these countries soon!
September 29, 2013
This book was interesting about places that I have been curious about. It is pretty typical travel writing but with interesting trips. I enjoyed it.
December 9, 2015
I love travel books about places tourists seldom go, so this was right up my alley.
April 26, 2017
Tony Wheeler's impact on my life as a publisher is unparalleled. LP guides have always been a must-have for pre-travel intel, if not a constant companion referenced over and over again on the road.
Tony Wheeler's impact on my life as a writer? Meh. His concept is tantalizing - basket case nations dealing with civil war, crippling poverty, and corrupt regimes. But what seems like exciting trips turn, in Wheeler's hands, into dull trips between government offices seeking elusive visas, permits, or passport stamps. Each chapter starts with an interesting recap of a country's troubled history before quickly moving onto (very) detailed recaps of his travel itineraries. His writing skims the surface of everything so he can move on to the next destination or observation. That said, you can sense the dark humor and passion for art and history that seem to be just bubbling under the surface. But everything is given such equal weight! Why on earth would you spend so long writing about the dullest things in your travels when there such genuinely interesting bits (the volcano in the Congo, the music clubs of Haiti, the abandoned mines of Papua New Guinea)?
Tony Wheeler's impact on my life as a writer? Meh. His concept is tantalizing - basket case nations dealing with civil war, crippling poverty, and corrupt regimes. But what seems like exciting trips turn, in Wheeler's hands, into dull trips between government offices seeking elusive visas, permits, or passport stamps. Each chapter starts with an interesting recap of a country's troubled history before quickly moving onto (very) detailed recaps of his travel itineraries. His writing skims the surface of everything so he can move on to the next destination or observation. That said, you can sense the dark humor and passion for art and history that seem to be just bubbling under the surface. But everything is given such equal weight! Why on earth would you spend so long writing about the dullest things in your travels when there such genuinely interesting bits (the volcano in the Congo, the music clubs of Haiti, the abandoned mines of Papua New Guinea)?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews