Book Some Good Advice

id you know that smooth-sided briefcases (like those made of leather) are a major cause of in-flight injuries, because they are more likely to fall out when overhead bins are opened? Canvas is the fabric of choice for the safety-conscious business traveler.

Did you know that a coach passenger could legally be barred from using the lavatories in first class?

Did you know that you can deduct on your taxes only those unreimbursed business travel expenses that exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income?

If you want to avoid learning any of these and other lessons the hard way, take a trip to your favorite bookstore.

Know the Fine Print

A well-informed traveler is a happy and productive traveler. Nolo Press, which specializes in legal guides for laypeople, published Trouble-Free Travel with that fact in mind. This clear and comprehensive guide arms travelers with the information they need to prevent and to deal with common travel problems.

With sections on airlines, car rentals, lodging and more, Trouble-Free Travel reveals the secret travel rules that can make a trip a joy or a disaster. It deals with everything from the daily and mundane (the ins and outs of rental-car refueling charges; your rights if a car rental company fails to provide the type of car reserved) to the more rare (the time limits on filing an international lost-baggage claim; who is liable if you're injured by a fellow airline passenger).

The book includes pointers to other resources, such as government fact sheets and travel industry contacts. Worth the price of purchase alone is the excellent step-by-step guide to resolving a problem or dispute.

Trouble-Free Travel . . . And What to Do When Things Go Wrong by Stephen D. Colwell and Ann R. Shulman (Nolo Press, 1998, $14.95)

You Can Take It With You

Are you the type who lugs all your possessions with you every time you go on a trip-just in case? Or do you travel light and then end up without the necessities?

Either way, The Packing Book can help. A carry-on evangelist, author Judith Gilford will show you the way to pack for any trip and arrive with everything you need and only what you need.

This comprehensive guide covers in detail (sometimes excruciating detail-you may want to skip some sections) buying luggage, planning what to take, traveling safely, carry-on etiquette, and packing for any kind of trip. Gilford provides a step-by-step guide to packing with her signature "bundle method," designed to use limited luggage space efficiently and arrive with wrinkle-free clothes.

It's filled with useful tips such as, "Always be prepared to (graciously) check your luggage if the attendant deems it necessary. Label your luggage inside and out, lock your bags, and keep your hotel itinerary in an outside pocket, in case your luggage arrives after you do." Checklists, such as one on comparison-shopping for luggage and several on packing the essentials, make this book worthwhile. The book is well-organized, so you can skip right to the section you need.

One caveat: Airline carry-on rules are in flux these days. Be sure to check with your airline about what's allowed before you go. The information in any book could be out of date.

The Packing Book by Judith Gilford (Ten Speed Press, 1998, $8.95)

What Not to Do

Vulnerable to a charge of stupidity itself, 101 Stupid Things Business Travelers Do to Sabotage Success nonetheless includes travel hints that even the most seasoned traveler might not know.

But the corny format-which first lays out a situation, then breaks down what's wrong, and finally provides a success strategy-puts the accent on the negative, forcing readers to wade through a whole lotta problem to get to the solution. And some of the situations portrayed are downright stupid-like the one where you forget to pick up your boss at the airport because you're eating spaghetti. Under "what's wrong," the book informs readers that "If you had Chinese food instead of Italian, the fortune cookie would have pre-warned [sic] you."

Still, some common sense is embedded in the silliness. For example, when your ill temper gets the better of you overseas, the author counsels: "Talk to other people you travel with and ask them to level with you. Based on their input, make an effort to demonstrate more class. . . . Always be courteous. Leave the desk-pounding and profane language to some other jerk."

Most travel books also ignore the consequences of business trips for work and family life when you return. This one has a section on "Post-Trip Recovery, Regrouping, Recreation" that reminds readers that hitting the ground running, although appealing when your desk is piled with work, is a destructive habit in the long run. Catch up on your sleep and renew family ties before you dive into the work.

101 Stupid Things Business Travelers Do to Sabotage Success by Harry Knitter (Richard Chang Associates, 1998, $9.95)

Terrible Trips

While you're delayed at O'Hare or snowed-in in Denver, how will you while away the hours? Two new books by people who have had much worse trips than the one you're having can help pass the time and motivate you to count your blessings.

After the Death of a Salesman: Business Trips to Hell is a compilation of terrible trips told by traveling executives from a variety of fields, including government.

From sleeping on a rooftop to escape the heat in Hyderabad, India, and losing eyeglasses down an airplane toilet to going one-on-one with Michael Jordan in first class, these travelers have seen and done it all.

Skip the chapters on the life of the salesman and the author's family history, and the occasional detours into the vagaries of book publishing, and you'll find some gems.

Much better written is a companion volume: I Should Have Stayed Home: The Worst Trips of Great Writers. Though few of the essays are about business trips, the stories take readers through a range of experiences, from the terrifying (army ants) to the amusing (rafting in Salzburg's sewers) that make the average federal business trip look like the proverbial day at the beach.

You may find some of your favorite authors among the contributors, who include Isabel Allende, Helen Gurley Brown, Pico Iyer, Barbara Kingsolver and Paul Theroux.

After the Death of a Salesman: Business Trips to Hell, edited by Roger Rapoport (RDR Books, 1998, $15.95)

I Should Have Stayed Home: The Worst Trips of Great Writers, edited by Roger Rapoport and Marguerita Castanera (RDR Books, 1994, $15.95)