SMALL TOWN AMERICA

SMALL TOWN AMERICA David Plowden; introduction by David McCullough (Abrams, $49.50) If you've forgotten about the heartland-and heart -of America, Plowden's photographs will restore your faith in the poetry of small-town country stores, barbershops, and places of worship. There's an eerie sameness to the images, and Plowden plays off the reader's expectations of the country as much as he frames his own vision. The interiors seem not to have been touched since the '50s, except for a good cleaning. Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough introduces the book, writing, ''Plowden records only what he sees, exactly as is....'' Small Town America makes the reader-and viewer- grateful for his vision. A+ -Rebecca Ascher-Walsh