Getting the Outside Story

THE BEST OF OUTSIDE: The First 20 Years by the editors of Outside magazine (Villard, $24.95).

For my money, America has been a better place since September 1977, when a new magazine began exploring outdoor activities beyond hunting and fishing. To be sure, Outside magazine has wandered up a few box canyons since, never quite resolving the conflict between conservation and consumption in its editorial approach. But while so many other of our periodicals have shriveled in body and spirit, reducing themselves to celebrity fan magazines or narrow how-to, where-to niches, Outside laid claim to all the world of open air and open space. It pioneered a formula that included fine, free-ranging writing about exciting things and wondrous locales. And to this it has remained faithful.

This year has been a particularly rewarding anniversary for Outside. Two spinoff books emerged from the magazine’s pages to claim slots on book bestseller lists: Jon Krakauer’s story of Mt. Everest (“Into Thin Air”) and Sebastian Junger’s tale of seas too high in the North Atlantic (“A Perfect Storm”). Both are prominent in this collection of 31 literate pieces, covering 360 degrees of surprise and fancy.

Part of the Outside strategy has been to offer freedom to brand-name writers. But to its lasting credit, the magazine has also developed and given prominence to its own stable of talent. Today, thumbing through the contributor list for this volume, it’s amazing to recall the mix of writers who lent not just their work but their names to the magazine: Bob Shacochis, David Quammen, William Kittredge, E. Jean Carroll, Barry Lopez and, of course, Tim Cahill. Add to that the other fine writers who have contributed over the years: Jim Harrison, E. Annie Proulx, Jane Smiley, James Salter, Jonathan Raban, William Finnegan, Edward Abbey, to name just some in this collection.

And remember, all of them are out seeking adventure, discovery, fun and danger. We go surfing on Oahu’s North Shore (Finnegan), driving down America’s highways (Harrison and Proulx), up the European ski slopes (Salter), into Haiti (Shacochis), down an Arctic river (Abbey) and into the New Guinea jungle (Cahill, who else?).

This volume is a toast to action and exuberance in travel writing, and a tribute to a magazine that still values it.

Quick trips

OFF THE MAP: The Curious Histories of Place Names by Derek Nelson (Kodansha, $19, maps). So, aren’t we surprised to learn that “globe” is a word devised when people thought the world was square? Or that the canary in Canary Islands comes from a Latin phrase referring to dogs? Or that for 300 years, Koreans have campaigned to eliminate the name “Japan” in the Sea of Japan? In this easy-reading narrative, Nelson has fun with the conceit that every place began with what humans call it.

BRITAIN ON YOUR OWN: A Guide for Single Mature Travelers by Dorothy Maroncelli (West Wind, $12.95, illustrated, paperback). Although not a polished work and sometimes a little too obvious, Maroncelli’s book is on the right track. Too many people of retirement age let themselves withdraw, fearful of traveling except in organized herds. The author lost her husband in 1985 and has been traveling single since, and her own joy at exploring Britain, meeting the British, is contagious. If you’re wavering about your own resolve to go it alone, Maroncelli is eager to lead you on your first steps.

SIX HERITAGE TOURS: A Walking Guide of the Lower East Side by Ruth Limmer (NYU, $12.95, paperback, illustrated, maps). What better time than now to reflect on our immigrant heritage? This book, a collaboration between the author and New York’s Tenement Museum, is a stroll backward into the world of inbound settlers: Germans, Irish, Chinese, Eastern European Jews and Italians. Following the routes outlined in afternoons of easy strolling will change your appreciation of the city.

PUERTO VALLARTA HANDBOOK: Including Sidetrips to San Blas, Guadalajara, and Lake Chapala, second edition by Bruce Whipperman (Moon, $14.95, paperback, illustrated, maps). Travel books are becoming ever more specialized. Even modest cities now receive their own treatments. Puerto Vallarta, population 300,000, is a retreat typically for those seeking a warm, easy getaway. Here, tourist paths are well-beaten, but there is more, of course. If this won’t get you off the beach of your resort hotel, nothing will.

INDIAN ART by Roy C. Craven (Thames and Hudson, $14.95, paperback, color illustrations). On the 50th anniversary of its independence, India finds itself influencing fashion and food, furniture and art. Here is a college-level survey of the vast country’s distinctive art and architecture--much heavier on past than present.

BELIZE: The New Key Guide by Stacy Ritz (Ulysses, $14.95, illustrated, maps). This is a comprehensive guidebook with an ecological emphasis and an insider’s feel of authority. The writer is enthusiastic and realistic--among the best qualities in a guide. Two of her previous guidebooks (“Hidden Carolinas” and “Hidden Florida”) have won awards, and no wonder.

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