Check It Out

Whether you’re a frequent flyer or an armchair traveler, library

resources can help you get from here to there with ease.

New on the shelves are many new print guides for 2002. If you’re

looking to book a romantic getaway to the “City of Light” without tapping

into your inheritance, check out the eighth edition of Frommer’s “Paris

From $80 a Day.” With listings of hidden gems for less than $50 a night,

affordable bistros and city sights, this is a great guide for first class

travel on a budget.

Also new from Frommer’s are guides to Spain, California, Rome and Las

Vegas, as well as 2002 city handbooks covering attractions,

accommodations and restaurants in New York City, San Diego and Berlin.

Many other tips are available in just-off-the-press publications from

Fodor’s and Let’s Go.

There’s also Hungry Minds, Inc.’s “Unofficial Guide” series. You can

learn how to make bids at Christie’s auction house and find the best

views of the Changing of the Guard with help from “The Unofficial Guide

to London.” Plan an escape to one of America’s most scenic regions with

“The Unofficial Guide to Bed & Breakfasts and Country Inns in the

Rockies.”

If you prefer to see the world from the ultimate comfort zone, such

videos as “World’s Most Exotic Places” and “Hidden Treasures of Europe”

offer virtual journeys through Greece, Italy, France, Germany and

Switzerland. Many in the “Going Places” series concentrate on specific

countries, while “SuperCities” tapes capture the appeal of enchanting

enclaves in Amsterdam, Bangkok, Rio de Janeiro and Rome.

With some imagination, you can travel to the Himalayas, the Indian

subcontinent and the deserts of Mongolia via dazzling photos in “Wild

Asia: Spirit of a Continent.” Published to accompany a series on the

Discovery Channel, Mark Brazil’s introduction to the flora and fauna of

the Far East is a visual tour de force.

Equally stunning is “Inuksuit: Silent Messengers of the Arctic,”

offering a virtual voyage to a spiritual landscape few have visited. With

more than 50 color photographs of mysterious stone figures, Norman

Hallendy reveals the vast beauty of a frozen world.

For armchair touring closer to home, Noah Adams invites readers on a

trip through some of the most rugged territory in the eastern U.S. in

“Far Appalachia.” Traveling by canoe, bicycle and raft, the affable radio

host shares adventures with hillbillies, bluegrass musicians and

white-water daredevils in this account of his yearlong ramble.

Hungry for familiar territory after all this roaming? Find visual

homage to a destination resort in your own backyard in “Newport Beach: A

Photographic Portrait.” Featuring views of local sights captured by

amateur to professional photographers, Melanie Aves’ coffee table tome

may make you happy to stay at home, sweet home.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams. All titles may be

reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at

https://www.newportbeachlibrary.org.