THE BLACKSMITH: Ironworker and Farrier <i> by Aldren A. Watson (W.W. Norton: $14.95, illustrated)</i>

The first half of Aldren Watson’s study has the pleasant, gently didactic tone of a good educational film. Using words and neat ink drawings, he explains the duties and roles of a New England blacksmith: his tools and supplies, his pay, his importance to the community. Much of that importance derived from his work shoeing horses: In freeway-conscious Southern California, it’s easy to forget that horses were important means of transportation well into the 20th Century.

The second half of the book is devoted to a set of plans for building a blacksmith’s forge, should the reader wish to undertake this unlikely project.