Color photographs and descriptive text explore the skilled creation of rugs from Persia, Tibet, China, and India Lots of color pictures in clear, brilliant focus make the difference in any home furnishings book; and collector, dealer, and now auction-house employee Middleton provides an easy-to-read one. Nuggets of information abound; for instance, Persians were the first to create carpets of curvilinear design, and the temperate climes of India dictated the development of the dhurrie, or cotton flat-weave rug. Occasionally, the data are a bit skimpy, as in the China-Tibet section; but the author points to a genuinely helpful bibliography. Maps introduce each of the eight rugs-by-geographic-origin chapters, which, in turn, are preceded by a detailed outline of the how, where, why, and who of carpet making. Knowledge that shouldn't be swept under the rug. Barbara Jacobs Used Book in Good Condition