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Title: Hanging Out in England
Authors: Dominique Herman, Lauren Koch, and Kristy Apostolides
Copyright: © 2001
Publisher: Frommers, a division of Wiley
ISBN: 0-7645-6246-0

Relevance: Hanging Out in England is ideal for reporters and other journalists working in England and who need to approach travel, entertainment and other activities from a decidedly younger point of view.

Review: When most of us think of Frommers books, we usually think of helpful guides for well-to-do Americans who are going on cruises, luxury tours, or similar non-strenuous activities. Hanging Out in England does not fit this mold and, surprisingly, is presented in a far different layout and manner than we're used to from many Frommers travel books.

In short, the Hanging Out series is targeted more at what we would call the "Let's Go" crowd, basically backpackers and young adventurers between the ages of 18 and 30.

This is good news for reporters and others who depend upon an accurate and down-to-earth spin to things. Consequently, Hanging Out in England is ideal for reporters and correspondents who are just getting their feet wet in England and want to eschew the usual high-end restaurants, hotels and other contrivances of middle class and get down to where the "real people" are having fun and hanging out.

Based on this demograph, we're not surprised to have sections in the book entitled Neighborhoods; Twelve Hours In... (what to do if you only have one day in the city); Hanging Out; Only Here; Bar Scene (where there's lots of information in the Bar Scene section); Boy Meets Girl (what to do in bars); Pub Crawls; The Live Music Scene; Five-0 (all about the police in the particular area); and The Club Scene.

Throughout the book, the language is kept clear, straight forward and light-of-pretense. This is a welcome change from many of the guidebooks we've seen that showcase how well the author knows his or her subject -- rather than how well the reader can learn from the expertise provided.

Other sections include: The Art Scene (including sections on books, design, festivals and events); The Gay Scene; Culture Zoo (you guessed it, museums and other cultural diversions); The Great Outdoors; Eats (including the five best ethnic eats); Crashing (finding a cheap place to sleep); and a Need to Know section (includes public transportation, where the local American Express office is, telephone dialing codes, airports and other things).

One of the nicest sections in the book is entitled Wired which outlines not only good Web sites to do with London and other cities within England, but also where to check your e-mail at the local cyber cafe. Nicely, complete addresses are given with phone numbers, hours, and fees for accessing the Net.

The book predictably starts in London and Environs, moving to Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire, the southeast (including Brighton, Hastings and Canterbury); Wiltshire and Somerset (Bristol, Bath, and Stonehenge); Devon and Cornwall (including a good section on Dartmoor National Park); Central England (think Birmingham, Stratford upon Avon, Nottingham and the Cotswolds).

Next up is the northwest and the Peak District (this would include cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Buxton); Yorkshire (including Leeds and York); the so-called Lake District; Northumbria (including Newcastle upon Tyne, Carlisle, and Hadrian's Wall).

One of the best sections of the book, albeit one of the most small, is a section called Planning Your Trip in which the basic regions of England are outlined and explained. We didn't understand why the Planning Your Trip section is near the end of the book, but we are thankful for its presence. One thing that all reporters and correspondents will appreciate is the book's Festivals and Events section that outlines (you guessed it) events and festivals throughout the year. For those approaching traveling from a hostel point of view, the book spends 20 pages listing these useful resources.

Overall:
We were very impressed with Hanging Out in England, especially for its key market demographs and youth oriented information. Clearly aimed at the youth market, Hanging Out in England would be very useful to anyone following up on a story, gathering background information, or generally just trying to fit in to the English scene as fast as possible -- especially from a young-person's point of view (say, between 18 and 30).

Highly recommended for any visitor new to the area and even those who have lived in one region of England for a while but have been transferred to another. Although you won't find recommendations for particularly high-end restaurants or sumptuous hotels, you will find a plethora of information resources for the mid, low or no cash set. Thus, writers, freelancers and others on a tight budget could well benefit from Hanging Out in England.

Other books in this series include:

• Hanging Out in France by Shannon Connelly

End of Review

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