  We investigate $e^+ e^- \to t\bar t$ by taking into account wave function
distortion effects in the near-threshold region and interpolating the
correction factor to the high-energy perturbative QCD region. The strong color
attraction between the color singlet $t$ and $\bar t$ enhances the cross
section over the tree level results near threshold. The rise of the cross
section near the threshold is smoothed by the effects of the large top width
and below-threshold resonances. The reliability of the prediction is well
assessed by comparing with experimental $R$ ratios for lighter quark production
at lower energies. The cross sections obtained here using the reported values
of the top mass, can be used directly for New Linear Collider (NLC)
projections.
