Eastern Europe the Honest Way

THE GYPSY IN ME: From Germany to Romania in Search of Youth, Truth, and Dad by Ted Simon (Random House, $25.95).

There is travel to escape, and there is travel to discover. The latter is much more challenging these days. After all, what is there left to discover, really?

Plenty, it turns out. Particularly if you do it the honest way, like Ted Simon, on foot for most of 1,500 miles through the “new” Eastern Europe, the land of the author’s progenitors: Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Romania.

This part of the world has been the subject of endless inquiry ever since the collapse of the Iron Curtain. But too much has been geopolitical and economic. Simon, a very visual writer--an “honest pilgrim,” as Jonathan Raban calls him--makes it personal as he takes in the geography, everyday culture and cobblestone streets as only the footsore traveler can. Which is not to suggest this is an everyday account.

It is wry, sympathetic and brings vivid color to a region so often perceived monochromatically. Like Poland’s flowers, its curly tailed dogs and its New Age TV commercials, the book contains “a bazaar of little things” that appeal to people yearning for some of the tiny luxuries that political upheaval promised.

The author reveals himself to be a resourceful traveler. And what he discovers is a treasure of understanding.

ENGLISH JOURNEY: Or the Road to Milton Keynes by Beryl Bainbridge (Carrol & Graff, $9.95, paperback).

In the autumn of 1933, Yorkshire novelist J.B. Priestley produced a classic account of roaming Britain, titled “English Journey.” Fifty years later, the BBC sent forth a team of eight to follow Priestley’s path and look at the island anew.

Among them was Beryl Bainbridge, perhaps best known in America for her 1991 book “The Birthday Boys,” about Capt. Robert Scott’s doomed turn-of-the-century Antarctic expedition.

Now, using Priestley’s old title, Bainbridge offers her diary of two months on the road in her homeland. Her trip occurred 14 years ago, but is published for the first time in the U.S. It is a charming journey, flavored with the conversational idioms of the British and an indigenous appreciation of the countryside, people and heritage.

Best, it reveals how one of the Britain’s best writers travels--and works--in her own land.

OUTSIDE MAGAZINE GUIDE TO FAMILY VACATIONS edited by Leslie Weeden (Macmillan, $15.95, paperback, illustrated).

TRAILSIDE PARENT’S GUIDE TO HIKING & CAMPING by Alice Cary (Norton, $18.95, softcover, illustrated).

THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION BOOK OF FAMILY NATURE ACTIVITIES: 50 simple projects and activities in the Natural World by Page Cichester (Owl, $14.95, paperback, illustrated).

Although late in the season, some of the big names in the outdoors are weighing in with their family offerings. This is a very difficult field primarily because the age of children determines their abilities and appetites. These books seek to accommodate families with youngsters of all ages, so long as they are old enough to appreciate nature.

The Trailside volume is primarily a how-to camping guide but one with the distinct virtue of making the outdoors seem plausible to families who have not ventured into the woods or, at least, with much confidence.

Outside Magazine’s offering is primarily a destination guide that addresses everything from surfing camps to Hawaii hotels where children might enjoy themselves. The National Wildlife Federation guide is an interesting project book designed to add to the family’s enjoyment of the outdoors--everything from building sandcastles to making twig whistles.

Quick trips:

INDIA! Granta, No. 57, the Magazine of New Writing (Penguin, $11.95, paperback, illustrated). Granta calls itself a magazine but it’s really a trade-size paperback book, published periodically. This one is a gem: 22 fine writers form a portrait of India for this month’s 50th anniversary of independence. Among them are big names such as V.S. Naipaul and Edward Hoagland. But you won’t be disappointed by the less known contributors. I happen to think this is one of the most astute and literate magazines around.

HIDDEN BAHAMAS editorial director Leslie Henriques (Ulysses Press, $12.95, paperback). Tired of Hawaii? It’s none too early to contemplate winter, so how about the Gulf Stream islands of the Bahamas, the only Caribbean nation that does not reach into the Caribbean sea? Most visitors come by cruise ship. The Hidden guide goes to these ports and beyond. You might take a look at Bimini, the old fisherman’s hangout.

BIRD BRAINS: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays by Candace Savage (Sierra Club, $18, paperback, illustrated). It doesn’t matter whether you travel with backpack or RV, whether you venture to Mexico or the Arctic, crows and their kin are common company. This handsome coffee-table book will increase your appreciation for these hardy, wily and remarkable creatures.

Books to Go appears the second and fourth week of every month.