Don’t Go There: From Chernobyl to North Korea—one man’s quest to lose himself and find everyone else in the world’s strangest places

After Spiegel bestselling author Adam Fletcher is accidentally tear-gassed in street protests in Istanbul, he goes on a journey to change his humdrum life, taking his eccentric German girlfriend, Annett, along with him. Their quest to better understand themselves (and everyone else) threatens their world view, sanity, and relationship.

Whether freezing in a blizzard in China; ruining a mass dance in North Korea; experiencing the corruption of Soviet-breakaway Transnistria; pondering the apocalypse in Chernobyl; getting stopped by police boats on the way to the newest country in the world (libertarian utopia Liberland); or meeting the devil incarnate on a night bus in Moldova, Adam keeps his sense of humour and fascination for the weird things people do to each other when they think no one is looking, in the places few of us ever go. Don’t Go There is a hilarious travelogue full of interesting characters, uncomfortable moments, unusual destinations, and British humour that will appeal to lovers of Bill Bryson, Douglas Adams, and David Sedaris.