Even the best-versed New Jersey coast-watcher stands to learn a thing or two from Inland Passage: On Boats and Boating in the Northeast (Rutgers University Press 1998).  This collection of articles by local journalist David W. Shaw spans a wide range of topics from the engineering history of the Intracoastal Waterway to that of the coast's lighthouses and shipwrecks.  The book encompasses people as well as events—the famed Jersey speedboat builders and a variety of offbeat characters discovered in and around Shaw's home waters of Barnegat Bay.  Loosely tying all this together are snippets from Shaw's solo cruises to New England, and from the Hudson to the St. Lawrence, aboard a 24-ft. sailboat.

To help communities evaluate their environmental and social resources and develop and carry out action plans, EPA has placed on-line two pamphlets entitled Green Communities and the Green Communities Assistance Kit.  They can be found at www.epa.gov/region3/greenkit/index.htm.  Also recently published by John Wiley & Sons for the Rocky Mountain Institute is Green Development: Integrating Ecology & Real Estate.   This 525-page compendium of information about how developers have been able to reduce costs and environmental impacts is based on 80 project case studies.  Among these are 17 from the Atlantic coastal zone including urban office buildings and hotels, resorts, and industrial installations in Boston, New York City, and the District of Columbia.  Contact John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third  Ave., New York, NY 10158-0012.

Life List: Remembering the Birds of My Years (Down East Books, 1998) is a thoughtful series of reflections about  author and Maine Times founder John L. Cole's bird encounters over time.  Many species from ducks and shorebirds to smaller backyard favorites such as the black-capped chickadee and the ruby-throated hummingbird, are featured.  In his lively accounts, Cole often revisits his pivotal decision to forego bird hunting, an activity he cherished earlier in his life.

John Waldman‘s devotion to one of America's prime game fish is examined through a compilation of the best striped bass tales published between 1869 and 1996.  Stripers: An Anglers Anthology (Ragged Mountain Press, 1998) is well suited for the off-season needs of well-versed anglers.  It is also apt for beginners. Instructional in its description of a variety of equipment and its use in diverse situations, the book stands out for its collection of colorful characters and their  pursuits.  One such is Judge Wickett of Cape Cod, who went for an ocean swim one day, was brusquely asked by a nearby surfcaster to tend a line, and found himself reeling in his first striper, a 20-pounder.  An instant convert, the Judge then cut way back on his use of golf clubs and attendance at cocktail parties.

Recently the Mystic Seaport Museum published America and the Sea: A Maritime History.   This impressive and handsomely illustrated volume, underwritten by the Henry Luce Foundation, includes seventeen chapters written by six different scholars at the Seaport's Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime Studies on subjects ranging from the European discovery of America to the evolution of naval power, fisheries, and maritime recreation.  The Seaport describes its book as "the most comprehensive maritime history of the United States available today."