Smash hit

The writer denied that his claim to have plagiarised work for Lonely Planet was a cheap publicity stunt. Mr Kohnstamm said he wanted to show that “even on a good day, a fair amount of what ends up in a guidebook is arbitrary, and therefore people shouldn’t necessarily treat them as gospel”.

News of Hell’s imminent release prompted Judy Slatyer, Lonely Planet's Australian-based chief executive, to write a dramatic letter to the private Lonely Planet Yahoo! group last week.

“For those who don’t know,” Ms Slatyer wrote, “Thomas Kohnstamm has written a book . . . about his somewhat self-indulgent experience working on the previous edition of our Brazil guide.

“The book’s press release highlights his sexual encounters with a waitress and his need to deal drugs to supplement his author fee, as well as less titillating complaints against us on unrealistic deadlines, lack of money and lack of support when he was on the road.”

She added: “Thomas also claims that due to lack of time and money, information in his titles is fictitious or plagiarised, and that he acted against our stated policies and accepted freebies, which compromised his recommendations.

"We are now urgently reviewing all current books Thomas contributed to, using authors on the ground and others. If we find that the content has been compromised, we’ll take urgent steps to fix it.”

“This is a s**t,” she wrote at the end of her letter, reported in last week's New York Observer. “None of you deserve it, given the effort you put in.”

Mr Kohnstamm, whose website says he holds a masters degree in Latin American studies, said that he had received dozens of letters of support from other Lonely Planet writers who share his grievances.

On one message board, a traveller wrote: "I bought his Costa Rican phrase book when I took a trip there a few years back. I also remember doing some nice drugs and getting laid left and right. Best damn trip of my entire life. So was it because of the phrasebook? If so, then I hope this guys sells a million books and they give him a freakin' medal. Thanks Kohnstamm!"

Lonely Planet was founded in 1972 by Tony and Maureen Wheeler. It was bought last year by BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC. The Wheelers retained a 25 per cent shareholding in the company, which also produces travel programmes and a website that receives 4.3 million visitors a month.

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