She does it again! Engelhaupt has an outstanding ability to take science- based topics and present them in an informative yet totally approachable and exciting way. I was blown away by Gory Details and Go to Hell will be another I will be recommending as I begin impatiently waiting for the next book by my newest auto-buy author!

In Go To Hell, we venture across the globe to find places associated with concept of Hell through folklore, physical features, unlivable conditions, and otherworldly attractions. While I enjoyed reading about each one of these places and their connection to the concept of Hell, I can safely say that not all the locations made it on my personal destination bucket list as many were truly -well- hellish!

I love to travel and finding things off the beaten path, and what better final destination than a trip to a hellish landscape full of lore and mystery! Pick up this travelogue of horribly beautiful and terrifying locations that harken to a literal hell on earth! From geothermal wonders filled with poisonous gases, acidic waters, and molten lava, to holy lands filled with depictions of torture and purgatory. Travel the underworld without ever leaving the safety of your own paradise!

Thank you, NetGalley and National Geographic for this advanced reader's copy. This book would be a fantastic coffee table book as I think it would definitely spark conversations. I loved the pictures in the book accompanying the descriptions of the crazy places, although so many places didn't even look real, they were so weird or creepy looking. And thank you for the nightmares now after reading about the beautiful looking "Glow worm cave" in New Zealand where the glow worms are actually MAGGOTS!! This book was funny, educational, and creepy.

National Geographic provided an early galley for review.

When I first heard the title of this book, I was hooked. Very novel indeed.

The subject matter is also a lot of fun. Broken down into three sections (Portals to the Underworld, Hells on Earth, and Otherworldly Destinations), Engelhaupt presents a variety of fascinating and fun locations for travelers to investigate. I like the inclusion of detailed lore, tips for your trips, and the full-color pictures. All together, they add up to a great sampling of memorable locations. While I might never make it to many of them, having this kind of information can be inspiring for an amateur writer like me (to add just the right flavor to a story).

What a cool concept for a book! I loved all the gorgeous photographs that appeared alongside the interesting stories and explanations for each site.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this book.

This book is about places, not dark tourism and the author makes a point to explain that.

I liked how there was a set criteria for the book and a clear division between the types.

There were spots where this book acted like a travel guide in some places that was a little disorientating.

The otherworldly destinations section is cool but unsure how it relates to the rest of the book. However, some of the entries make sense regarding the rest of the book while others fall flat.

I wish there had been more photographs.

This will be a good book to read in small bites in print. A lot is lost in e copy. Fun and different, and great for the adventurous tourist.

What a great concept for a travel book! In each short entry Engelhaupt gives a good overview of the site, with historical and scientific information, as well as tips for visiting. And the liberal addition of color pictures makes this book as much a pleasure to look at as it is to read.

The destinations are broken into three thematically linked sections and were selected based on different "hellish" ideas: cultural associations with an underworld/otherworld (Pluto's Gate, Turkey); extreme environment (Danakil Depression, Ethiopia); uncanny features (Blood Falls, Antarctica); or inherent danger (Cape York, Queensland, Australia). I do wish there had been a bit less organization, as reading about the same types of places all in a row got a little tedious, but that's a very minor complaint.

Received via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book. The pictures are gorgeous, and the mythology and history are endlessly interesting. It's one of those books you pick up on title alone but once you get into it you find out that it's fascinating.

Yes, I ever wish to send a postcard from hell. Hehe. This detail of historical and cultural background makes me want to visit all the places underbelly over all the world. The part of myths and legends also very interesting to be read.

This was an interesting read. The history and culture about each location was fascinating. I would recommend to those who like to travel.

I loved this book! I enjoy traveling and it was so interesting to read about different and unique places in the world.
I also loved the information, history, myths, etc. about the places.

It was fine. The photos are very nice and I like the varied locations included in the survey. It definitely is created to get people's attention and has some interesting trivia, but other than that it is mostly a novelty book.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a free review, opinions are my own.

This book was a fun read about the different "hells" found on Earth. If you love travel, history, or learning of different religions, then this is the book for you! I loved how the author gave tips on how and when to travel to these otherworldly places. The pictures are stunning but with just one or two on each topic they left me wanting to see more.
#GotoHell #NetGalley

ARC review will be out in August. Very interesting read about myths and legends. Covers a lot of different religions.

Go to Hell is informatively written in a very personal way. It was perfectly suited for this book. The photos in this book are GORGEOUS! (Colorful, vivid, interesting!) This is probably the best non-fiction book that I've read this year.

Bracken Caves in Texas are now on my bucket list. The flowing sulfur blue flames that flow on Kawah ijen look amazing. Love the picture of the Sifaka lemurs on the Grand Tsingy rock formations. Devil's Bath in New Zealand looks intriguing. Again and again I was fascinated by each location.

I highly recommend Go to Hell. Definitely more than 5 stars!

Many thanks to NetGalley, publisher National Geographic and author Erika Engelhaupt for the opportunity to read the advance review copy of Go to Hell in exchange for an honest review. 288 (full color) pages, release date is (Tuesday) August 13, 2024. (Release dates seem to fall on Tuesdays, but it seems that they might have waited for Friday Sept 13, 2024. Just saying.)

This is such an interesting book! Even though the locations are hell, the descriptions make them sound intriguing and fun to visit (although sometimes dangerous). The book gives the locations their own section, with photos and historical context. The history is fascinating, with some places being the sites of human sacrifices or other rituals. I wasn't expecting to want to visit these places, but I would love to just be able to have one huge trip where I got to see all these places with this book in hand.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I find history incredibly fascinating, so when the opportunity to read a book about the history and lore surrounding some truly eerie places popped up, I knew I had to read it! In ‘Go to Hell,’ Erika Engelhaupt brings us along as she discusses 50+ hellish locations. She dives into the lore and myths surrounding each location, and the visuals presented alongside add an extra layer of intrigue. I frequently pulled up additional images of the places she talks about because I was so curious to see more! In the introductory section, Engelhaupt calls these places “awesomely awful,” and I found that to be the perfect description.

Going into this, I thought I would know many – if not most – of the places Engelhaupt would take us to; however, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I had prior knowledge of very few of them! I found the discussions dealing with the different religious beliefs of the various cultures to be especially interesting. I was also surprised by the fact that some of the spots are right in the center of (or very nearby) popular tourist spots. The writing was never dry or boring, and I never caught my eyes trying to skip paragraphs just to get through the book. I honestly enjoyed Engelhaupt’s research so much that, before finishing this one, I added her other book, ‘Gory Details,’ to my TBR.

If you are interested in world travel and otherworldly locations, or you just like interesting books with lots of pictures, please check this one out!

Has anyone ever told you to go to hell? Well, now you can! There are a surprising number of ways to get there, from rivers in Greece to caves in Ireland, the Valley of Hinnom in Jerusalem or a castle in Czechia built to protect the mortal world from a gateway to hell. Really, your choices seem almost endless. This book not only lets you know which of these places you can visit — such as St. Patrick’s Purgatory, a small pit on an island in the middle of an Irish lake, the temple of Mount Osore in Japan, or cenotes on the Yucatan Peninsula — but when. Fortunately many of them seem amenable to tourists during summer, when the weather is at its warmest.

The book is also littered with facts about hell, purgatory, and the religious beliefs of many of these cultures, showing the similarities between ancient beliefs and more modern Christian ones. It also makes note of the differences between the television “voodoo” and the actual Vodun religion while mentioning the differences between the Shinto and Mayan netherworlds.

Then there are the truly inspiring places, such as the pit in Turkmenistan — 230 feet wide and 66 feet deep which belches fire. Or Death Valley where temperatures can reach over 130 degrees Fahrenheit, the Dead Sea with its intricate salt formations, or even the Antarctica’s Blood Falls. There are even sections dedicated to a selection of impressive caves, volcanoes, and parks which host bats, snakes, and other ‘hellish’ creatures.

The writing is approachable, giving just enough information about any one place to pique your interest, but never so much to feel like an encyclopedia entry. Each location seems to get a rough page — sometimes two for those with more stories or details to be mentioned, and all entries come with full color pictures or illustrations. This would be a fun coffee table book for anyone interested in hell, religion, history or geography. I very much want to thank Net Galley and National Geographic for granting me an advanced reader copy.

This was a really interesting read and worked with the Hellish locations in the world. I was hooked from the first page and loved the travel guide element to this. Erika Engelhaupt does everything that I wanted from the description and I felt like I was in each location.