-------- --- --------- -- ----------- - --- TRAVEL Easy Going: A Guide to Traveling in Good Health &: Good Spirits by Mel London, 1981, 320 pp., $9.95 from: Rodale Press, Inc. Organic Park Emmaus, PA 18049 Hosteling USA: The Official American Youth Hostels Handbook by Michael Frome, 1981, 250 pp., $6.95 from: The East Woods Press 820 East Boulevard Charlotte, NC 28203 Virtually any traveler could benefit from one of these books, though few would be apt to use both. Easy Going is geared toward the m iddle-age, middle-class international traveler. In addition to the basics, it covers a wide range of information for travelers with special physical problems-cardiac patients, PEOPLE "Refugees: The New International Politics of Displacement," by Kathleen Newland, Worldwatch Paper #43, March 1981, $2.00 from: Worldwatch Institute 1776 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Like the international migrant, the refugee of today is an unhappy reminder of the intense pressure being placed on limited world resources by a rapidly growing population. Rivalry over land, food and jobs is combining with the traditional themes of political, ethnic and religious antagonism to produce a fertile breeding ground for violence within and between nations. Violence, in turn, produces displaced populations, and according to diabetics, blind or deaf people, wheelchair travelers. It's also full of great little tidbits that only a very seasoned traveler could offer. For instance, on all U.S. airlines today, if you request a nonsmoking seat they must give you one. If the "no smoking" seats are filled then the next row, on request, must be made a part of that section. Hosteling USA , on the oth.er hand, is geared toward low-budget, domestic travelers of all ages (not just youth). After years of hosteling in other countries, Americans are now discovering hostels in the U.S. Hosteling provides a way to tour inexpensively, to meet people with similar interests and to gain insight into a culture. Hostels are simple, cooperative facilities that provide clean eating and sleeping accommodations at an average cost of under $4.00 per night. They are located in national and state parks, cities, small towns and the countryside. As the author of Hosteling USA points out, the less money you spend, the more you are apt to learn about the people and places you visit. This new edition provides current listings and descriptions, maps and directions for over 250 American Youth Hostels. -MR 11-~' ~ I Kathleen Newland the 19805 will almost certainly prove to be a "decade of the refugee" unless great foresight and cooperation between nations is brought to bear. Beyond immediate humanitarian aid and resettlement assistance, a concerted international effort must be mounted to find more permanent solutions to the refugee dilemma. Individual governments, says Newland, must be held strictly accountable to the community of nations for act ions which favor one segment of their population over another and thus provoke mass exodus. An international consensus must be reached on a means to recognize the rights of self-determination of groups within nations (such as the Basques in Spain) without setting off bloody conflicts that produce even more refugees. No country, Newland contends, is immune to the destabilizing effects of homeless populations and none can justifiably ignore the refugee's plight. Refugees, and the environments which produce them, are everybody's problem. - JF June 1981 RAIN Page 21 GOOD WORK From Worksteads Worksteads: Living and Working in the Same Place, by Jeremy Joan Hewes, 1981,165 pp., $9.95 from: DoubledayJDolphin Books 245 Park Avenue New York, NY 10017 I happen to be one of those people who enjoys Lving and working in the same placein my case, Rainhouse. I enjoy it because it is convenient, saves me from commuting, and keeps me close to the typewriters, library and files that are the tools of my trade. I like it because I can take a ten-minute break and cool out in the garden, or take a cup of coffee in my own kitchen between phone calls. I like it for most of the reasons mentioned in this book. Living and working in the same place also has a generous supply of disadvantages. Drawing lines between work and play (or justnon-work) IS probably the most significant problem. This drawback and others'. including systematic constraints, like zoning restrictions and building codes, are also explored by the author. She uses an interesting mixed format, blending concise biographies of seasoned "worksteaders" with resource lists, bibliographies, and specific responses to probable questions. The result is a book that introduces you to the people who are livmg the lifestyle described (and a likeable lot they seem to bel) while also teaching ways to emulate them. les a well-balanced survey, a little too " upbeat" maybe (for anyone wanting to know the worst case scenario, ask us), but that positive attitude makes for good reading. Even if you swear by the ne<:essity for " site separation" you'll likely enjoy this book. -CC
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