NONFICTION - Nov. 17, 1996

APPLES by Roger Yepsen. (W.W. Norton: $13, 256 pp.) What hath Johnny Appleseed wrought? Not just apples, apples everywhere--but a harvest of books about them, too. One of the tastiest, the simply titled “Apples” by Roger Yepsen, has the range of flavors--from sweet to tart--of your favorite varieties. Yepsen has a sweet brush stroke (he illustrated the book, too); his renditions will conjure up the old meaning of “the apple of your eye.” But his pen can be tart. Of the Red Delicious he writes: “The rise of Red Delicious has been called the victory of style over substance.” This book isn’t. With crisp advice on choosing and cooking apples, it’s well worth biting into.