FEVER COAST LOG: At Sea in Central...

FEVER COAST LOG: At Sea in Central America by Gordon Chaplin (Touchstone: $11; 229 pp.). Initially, this account of cruising the Caribbean coast of Central America in a 36-foot motorsail reads like the prose equivalent of a Jimmy Buffett song--a mellow tale of booze, Hawaiian shirts and tropical nights. But the parrot-head facade conceals a well-crafted journey into self-knowledge. Chaplin attempts to retrace the journey of his ancestor, Frederick Catherwood, who took part in the 1839 expedition that discovered the Mayan ruins in Belize. His curiosity about Catherwood is not an idle hobby, but the result of an effort to penetrate the carefully guarded secrets of their proper New England family. As he talks with people and observes conditions in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, he muses on the many occasions on which the United States has sent troops into the region, as well as his personal conundrums. Chaplin assumes the persona of a puzzled, slightly tipsy observer, like a crafty poker player who acts dumb while keeping the high cards close to his chest.

STILL LIFE AND OTHER STORIES by Junzo Shono, translated from the Japanese by Wayne P. Lammers (Stone Bridge Press: $11.95; 264 pp., paperback original). Junzo Shono’s insightful, understated narrative traces the development of a middle-class Japanese family during the postwar era. Japanese society has undergone profound changes since the end of World War II, but the Yomogidas remain blithely unaware of those changes, even as they are transformed by them. The stories focus on anecdotal vignettes that suggest the frozen reality and slightly artificial poses of snapshots in a dusty album. The characters appear static because their lack of insight prevents them from observing the transformations they have undergone between the individual frames.

THE 1993 INFORMATION PLEASE ENVIRONMENTAL ALMANAC compiled by the World Resources Institute (Houghton-Mifflin: $10.95; 656 pp., illustrated, paperback original). This impressive annual compendium documents the current state of the planet in capsule discussions of key issues and state-by-state, country-by-country lists. A recap of the 1992 Earth Summit includes both the promising agreements signed there and the obstructionist role played by the Bush Administration and the Catholic Church. There is some good news: In the United States, recycling has increased and atmospheric emissions of lead, particulates and volatile organic compounds have decreased. But much of the information highlights the need for immediate, widespread action, especially in Africa, where overpopulation, overgrazing and deforestation are rapidly destroying the continent’s resources.

BEFORE THE REVOLUTION: A View of Russia Under the Last Tsar by Kyril Fitzlyon and Tatiana Browning (Overlook Press: $17.95; 208 pp.). When Nicholas II came to the throne in 1894 he inherited a diverse empire that encompassed one-sixth of the Earth’s land surface. Fitzlyon and Browning have assembled an extraordinary collection of archival photographs that documents the sweep of that ill-fated empire. The visual contrasts are many and striking: 18th-Century palaces in St. Petersburg and rustic peasant huts in Siberia; serene gardens and wild forests; elegant army officers, and Asian children studying their respective lessons. The scholarly but readable text puts this panorama in historical perspective and offers useful background information for readers struggling to understand the ongoing metamorphosis of the former Soviet Union.

INTO THE GREAT SOLITUDE: An Arctic Journey by Robert Perkins (Laurel: $5.99; 222 pp.). During the summer of 1987, the author made a solo canoe journey through the Northwest Territories, retracing the route of British Navy Captain George Back, who explored the river that bears his name in 1834. The Back is the longest river that runs entirely through the tundra. To the casual observer, it’s a bleak, inhospitable region; but, as the author discovers, the seemingly empty plains teem with life. The journal of this trek, prepared in conjunction with a PBS special, reads like a conversation with an old friend: Perkins’ observations range from the way the Inuit built their hunting blinds to the plots of old Katherine Hepburn movies. The thoughtful tone of his internal monologue gives meaning to what initially seems like a silly, dangerous stunt.

CANDYFLOSS COAST by Barbara Crossley (Virago Press/Trafalgar Square: $11.95; 234 pp.). As Barbara Crossley is a noted British journalist, it’s not surprising that the heroine of her first detective novel is a newspaper woman in a small seaside town in northern England. A string of unexplained murders leads reporter Anna Knight to probe the seamy underside of this apparently innocent village. She discovers a maelstrom of intrigue, involving ecological threats, industrial terrorism and a Svengali-esque “rent boy.” Crossley populates her fiction with well- drawn characters who are eccentric enough to be interesting without becoming self-consciously colorful. Fans of British mysteries will welcome this debut novel.

THE PENNY PINCHER’S ALMANAC HANDBOOK FOR MODERN FRUGALITY by Dean King and the editors of The Penny Pincher’s Manual (Fireside: $8.95; 184 pp., paperback original) and L. A. BARGAIN BOOK by Jeff Hutner (New Paradigm Press: $12.95; 296 pp.). As Mrs. Lovett sang in “Sweeney Todd,” “Ah sir, times is hard, times is hard,” and these books offer hints on coping with the recession--whether it’s officially over or not. “The Penny Pincher’s Almanac” contains some sensible suggestions about how to save money by choosing store brands, making careful lists, etc. Others seem less practical: A shopper may be able to save a few cents at the grocery store if he clips, saves and correlates coupons as the authors suggest, but if his time is factored into the equation, how much does he actually save? “L. A. Bargain Book” lists where things can be gotten cheaper in a city that has reputation for being expensive. The one drawback is that the shops are often dozens of miles apart. To take maximum advantage of these opportunities to save, readers should keep the book in the car next to the maps.