COTTON

A tittle history of the use of cotton (beginning as long as rive thousand years ago) and the development of spinning machines and the cotton gin; a little more--the cote and cream of the book--on the parts and life cycle of the cotton plant; and then a tour of modern processing systems. With Wexler's standout nature photos and Selsam's brisk, efficient, but engagingly detailed text, it's a well-directed first look, by far the sharpest we've had on the subject.