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Posted Monday, April 1, 2002, at 7:46 AM ET

Chris Mohney is an editor and writer for the "Unofficial Guide" travel series.

Let's start with a gross generalization: There are—generally and grossly—three kinds of travel writing, all of which overlap. The literary stuff usually manifests as a sort of enlightened travelogue, which at its best resonates with truth about the journey and the writer both. Then you have advertorial travel writing, which fills the tiny spaces between the pictures (and ads) in most glossy travel magazines; there's nothing at all wrong with advertorial, as long as you recognize its agenda and limitations.

And then there's the travel guide, which is what I do. Travel guidebooks are far and away the most widely read kind of travel writing, but it's the sort of proletarian toil that doesn't get a lot of respect at the coffeehouse. Sure, people I tell about my job often turn instantly envious, fabricating for me a sexy fantasy life of jetting from one comped hotel suite and five-star meal to the next, threatening concierges and maître d's with the power of my poisoned pen (or, as you can see, my purple prose).

Would that it were so. I love what I do, and I'm not starting up the pity party just yet. But every good, thorough travel guide represents thousands of hours of research, walking around, standing in line, driving, waiting, talking to tourists, plotting maps, eating questionable food, harassing (or when that fails) outright lying to imperious publicity flacks, and a hundred other flavors of unglamorous legwork. All so you, the privileged travel guidebook reader, don't have to wade through the same labor to enjoy your vacation.

Speaking of which, if you're like millions of Americans and foreign visitors, you'll be heading to Walt Disney World, Las Vegas, or Disneyland very soon. The guidebooks I work on—the Unofficial Guide travel series—cover those destinations, among many others. I just finished my annual pilgrimage to the "World," and I'll be spending this week in Las Vegas. The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas is the best-selling Vegas guidebook, and updating it for the 2003 edition is my mandate for the next few days. Along with my boss, during the week I'll review about 22 shows, walk around the hotels and casinos, talk up the locals, and eat at God knows how many overflowing buffets.

If you're the type of traveler who recoils at big, glitzy excess, you don't need my advice to know that Vegas is probably not for you. But don't think you must gamble to have a good time here. Hotel space and food are absurdly cheap, and top-notch entertainment options run the gamut. I'm not a gambler, and I enjoy Las Vegas even when I'm just wandering around and gawking like everyone else. It's people-watching par excellence. To work travel guidebooks without going crazy, you have to possess or cultivate an omnivorous attitude toward entertainment and self-amusement. You have to profile typical tourists and figure out what they want, what they like, and how they respond. You must, to some degree, disconnect your own prejudices and aesthetic in favor of your readers'. You have to get way inside the mind of Joe Tourist. It's kind of like those psychological thriller movies—police shrink gets into the head of criminal mastermind—but without all the blood and screaming at the end (usually).

Of course, personal bias is sometimes insurmountable. Just last year, I saw a show in Vegas that was so very, very horrible that I still mentally associate it with a kind of transcendent moral evil. I couldn't wait to get my hooks into that show review and give back some of the pain. But that's the exception. The trademark of the Unofficial Guides, as opposed to many other guidebook series, is that the Unofficials are very prescriptive. Most all the information we relate is coupled with detailed advice, reviews, touring plans, or instructions based on the idea that most people want to travel with minimal delay, hassle, and expense, and they want the definite opinions of an expert to help them along. It's all very Type A.

This translates to a lot of ground to cover for writers and editors. We take nothing for granted, and we check out everything personally. And like a lot of other folks in Las Vegas, we have to be on the lookout for new angles at all times. A cool new travel tip about a place like Las Vegas is gold in the guidebook biz. Sometimes we get lucky that way, and sometimes we have to make our own luck by relentlessly pounding the pavement. And if I see Frankie and Sammy, I'll tell them you said hello.

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Entry 1

Posted Monday, April 1, 2002, at 7:46 AM ET
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Chris Mohney is an editor and writer for the "Unofficial Guide" travel series.
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