STRING

Despite a delightfully funny ``Opening Line'' concerning the orneriness of tangled string (``it has a nasty mind of its own''), the title here is something of a misnomer. String is mostly about rope and knots, an intriguing, densely packed volume about sailor's lore, the mechanics of rope, why some knots work better than others, vocabulary (``twine,'' ``line,'' ``sheets,'' ``halyards,'' etc.), even how to tie a bow tie and sew on a button (``a deft little piece of line engineering...a skill you will need the rest of your life''). The drawings are clear, detailed, and drawn with beguiling verve; they're also crammed with so many hints, arrows, directions, and comments (``a handsome knot—symmetrical and rhythmic'') that they can take some study to extract the meat. Adkins's instructions are full of brisk humor and great fun; he includes all the best knots—the bowline, the ``Abraham Lincoln'' of knots; clove, timber, and half hitches; and even a challenging new knot designed to cope with synthetic fibers: the ``Hunter's bend.'' Index. (Nonfiction. 10+)