Sweden; the country that gave us Abba, Hasselblad, Volvo, Saab & another quality act who can comfortably be mentioned in the same sentence ; our very own Charles King.
This review is rather late in coming, due to various issues I've had to deal with, I've only just got round to ordering Charles book, but that now being rectified - let's see what we've got!
First off, Musa who designed the cover - nice one, I've been out with women that did'nt look as sexy!
But a book is similar to a woman insomuch that its what lies under the wrapping that counts! (or as I remember anyway!!)
So now we move on to the contents, after the dedications and thanks, there follows a concise two pages covering the contents of the book. I always appreciate this as a starting point, although I invariably read a book cover to cover, it is nice to be able to locate individual sections if required. From the introduction, you know that your in for a good read, now lets be clear on one point - if your looking to buy a construction manual, look elsewhere in this section. The whole point behind Charles book is to explain the motivations & the rational behind his approach to the task, and the journey he traveled to achieve his final goal. Don't get me wrong, the ideas are there for all to see, but a step by step guide it ain't! It's one of those books that you will read - then go back to, each time noticing something you missed previously.
Kind of a "s*%t why did't I think of that?" situation, a lot of the stuff in here is the sort of thing that stimulates your own creative "juices". If as I suspect that was one of Charles main objectives in writing this tome, he has struck his target with deadly accuracy.
The text however is only part of the books allure. I had intended to count the photographs - but kept losing count
The old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" has never had a stronger ring of truth! There's one for every aspect of the rig that Charles discusses (& that's the lot!)
The only criticism I can raise is that some of the photo's look to be low resolution, but it's only a very minor point, and certainly not enough to detract from the other qualities of this splendid offering. The inclusion of color plates would have been nice, but having "quote hunted" for my own clients in the past - I know how crippling the cost of four color printing can be!
The inclusion of rigs constructed by other members of the group, photographs of "real" rigs (I hate that saying - lets call the commercially produced!) and a comprehensive links section round off what emerges as a well balanced product.
In the end analysis, a books perceived value is - in my humble opinion, whatever an individual takes away with him/her when they finally put the book down. I've already started a migration of ideas, and suspect I will be continuing for some time to come.
Is it worth reading? yes!
Worth the price? at $24.00, it's an absolute steal!
Well done Charles!
Sweden - we owe you one!
Edited by: redphotoman at: 7/18/04 19:50
Author
Logged
