LIFE WITH AN ELECTRIC CAR by...

LIFE WITH AN ELECTRIC CAR by Noel Perrin (Sierra Club Books: $12; 217 pp.). When a student asked ecology professor Noel Perrin why he a drove gas-guzzling truck, he began to look for an electric car. He finally found one in California, but its limited cruising range and inability to climb steep hills complicated the trip home to Vermont. Perrin blends serious discussions of pollution with a personal account of his travels. His endearing, avuncular approach to questions of energy use will probably win more converts to the environmental cause than the confrontational stance of many authors who champion the movement.