You do not have to be an adventurous outdoor type, or a practitioner of some specialized skill, to benefit from tying knots, for it is one of those basic skills that are accessible to all who choose to acquire them. And it has endless practical applications-from mooring a boat an$ loading a car roofrack to tethering an animal, lashing a garden trellis, and slinging accessories from a pack.

The Directory of Knots examines more than 100 different knots, covering a wide spectrum of activities, in straightforward diagrams and step-by-step descriptions:

- The world's favorite knots

- 20 practical knots

- Traditional knots

- Innovative knots

- Useful mutations

Here are knots for everyone and every purpose.

John Shaw caught the itch to tie knots when he was a teenager. Since retiring

as a college lecturer in further education, he has gained more time to indulge his

own enthusiasm for knotting, and to respond to the increased demand from

others for information about a skill that is enjoying a worldwide growth of

interest and participation.