A jewel of a city – and a book

We're not likely to get in the habit of reviewing big, glossy coffee table picture books in Turbula – but when the author is our own Charlene Baldridge, and the topic is our own San Diego ... well, exceptions can always be made.

You live in a place long enough, even a place you moved to as an adult, you forget how many cool things there are about the town. You get jaded.

That's why books like this are such a balm – they remind us of the magic we once thought the place had. It still does, it's just that we forgot.

As a kid growing up in Ohio, I was sure we lived in the most boring place on earth. When my cousins would visit from Maryland, though, they thought it was pretty cool – because it was all new to them. The Air Force Museum, Kings Island, the great Snake Mound – this was all good stuff to them. And, in truth, when they were visiting, Ohio seemed a lot more interesting.

But at its best, Ohio can't hold a candle to San Diego as a tourism magnet – a point made clear by Charlene's "San Diego: Jewel of the California Coast."

It is Baldridge's text that gives this touristy overview of San Diego its cohesion, for the full-page photos are drawn from a variety of photographers. A lot of the photos are stock, postcard variety – but given the scenery in San Diego, there still isn't a loser in the bunch.

But Charlene keeps everything focused, and has organized the book by types of attractions: cultural, historic, beach. Things stay very generalized – there's no attempt to compete with the various tourism books that claim to offer all the "local" haunts. Unlike those books, this one will still be applicable a decade from now.

It's a breezy read, as one would expect, but whether you're a local who gets the book to show off to out-of-town friends who drop in or a frequent visitor who wants a reminder of the highlights, it's a gorgeous introduction to San Diego.

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