Researching a book entitled 101 Places to Get F*cked Up Before You Die: The Ultimate Travel Guide to Partying Around the World may seem like the most fun job ever. But editor David S. Miller stresses there’s more to it than one might think. He describes the compilation of wild, first-person adventure stories pulled from the community of travel writers that comprise the Matador Network as a “Trojan Horse:” the sensationally-dubbed cover opens to reveal real cultural experiences.
The book’s crazy title gave Miller pause when he was first approached about the project, but he soon realized there was a lot missing in the current travel literature. Most features flaunt the best beaches and sunsets, but they lack details on how visitors can have authentic cultural experiences. “People are just trying to sell the destination,” he says. But he wanted this book to provide readers with “culture and stories you wouldn’t find in every travel book.”
“The whole ethos behind the book is: it doesn’t really matter where you go…even in Antarctica or the middle of the Bolivian salt flats…if you’re the kind of person who isn’t much of risk-taker, this is a time to get out and mix it up,” says Miller.