A TASTE OF ITALY

In the Food Around the World series, a survey of typical foods and eating habits, touching on important food crops and manufacturing, popular dishes, and the history of staples like tomatoes and pasta, but not on imports or exports. Frequent, clearly reproduced color photos—sometimes several on a spread- -are well chosen to give a sense of landscapes, markets, and particular dishes. There are lapses—a chart comparing US and Italian consumption of various foods is truncated, insufficiently explained, includes anomalous numbers, and contradicts another newly published book in the series: A Taste of Japan (ISBN: 1- 56847-097-5). The several recipes, filtered through the originating British publisher, give a fair idea of how dishes such as risotto, granita, or pizza are made, but are bland—there is a watery minestrone, and no garlic anywhere. Still, an inviting introduction to a popular cuisine. Glossary; six ``Books to read''; index. (Nonfiction. 8-12)