Robert Young Pelton at RolfPotts.com

Today at the RolfPotts.com Writers page, I’m happy to debut an interview with author and filmmaker Robert Young Pelton, who has made a career out of traveling through the world’s most dangerous places. His recent journeys have taken him to the siege of Grozny in Chechnya, the battle of Qala-I-Jangi in Afghanistan, and Baghdad’s “RPG Alley”. He has been kidnapped by right wing death squads in Colombia and survived a plane crash in Indonesia, yet he insists in the interview (and I readily agree) that “the world is not so scary and dangerous once you get out there.”

As an author, Pelton is best known for his classic underground guide to surviving danger; Robert Young Pelton’s The World’s Most Dangerous Places, now in its fifth edition. His other books include Come Back Alive, The Adventurist, and Three Worlds Gone Mad. His newest book, Licensed to Kill: Privatizing the War on Terror, a book about mercenaries and private contractors, is due out in March of 2006.

In the interview, Pelton asserts that the writing itself is the least enjoyable part of being a journalist and travel writer. “I hate the process of sitting on my ass staring at a computer compared to the travel and experience process,” he says. “Accordingly I have done a number of very interesting things I have never bothered to write about.”

Pelton doesn’t mince words with his advice for aspiring travel writers. “You either write or you don’t,” he says. “My advice to people who aspire to be me is to stop whining and just do it. Everything falls into place once you begin the process. If it doesn’t, there is always Wal Mart. Just write and use it as your passport to learning about the world.”

Full Robert Young Pelton interview online here.