5 comments about Building a Straw Bale House: The Red Feather Construction Handbook.

1. I first became aware of straw base houses when I visited friends who had built one high in the Colorado rockies. In spite of the bad winters in that location, they reported that they very rarely used any heating beyond opening the drapes on the south facing windows. I don't know what the R-value of a bale of straw might be, but it is high.
   
   They also reported that in the few years they had lived there they had had virtually no maintenance. I had imagined little cracks in the exterior covering and furry little critters living in the walls. But they reported that nothing like this had occurred.
   
   This book is put out by the Red Feather Development Group. They are a non-profit group chartered to provide low cost but efficient housing on indian reservations. They have been developing straw bale contruction for houses over many years, many buildings.
   
   This handbook is not exactly a complete primer on building a straw bale house, to me it is an idea book. There's not much here, for instance on plumbing, heating, wiring and so on. Fair enough, those things are much the same for any house, and well understood by architects and contractors. What this book does is talk about building the house itself, the wall structure, supporting the roof, the things that are unique to building with Straw Bales. There are lots of pictures, illustrating lots of points that you wouldn't think of unless you had been there and done that.
   
   Highly recommended!



2. This book gives an over view of the process to build a home using straw bale construction that is used by the Red Feather Development Group. Modeled after Habitat for Humanity they help tribal members living on Indian reservations achieve home ownership. The book takes you through the building process with many photos and diagrams. There is also pictures and discriptions of straw bale homes that are still lived in after 80 years, showing that sustainable housing is not a passing fad.



3. This was really a good book and I would recommend it very much.



4. I found this book to be very helpful with pictures and building concepts easy to understand by the layman. The chapters are well layed out on each step of the building process and gives a lot of good tips both in dealing with the building code requirements and common sense ideas to building a straw bale house. While the houses in this book are architectually simple, a rectangle shape, the ideas can be use in more complex designs.



5. Frankly, I like this book, despite my 2-star rating of it. It has some excellent information in it as well as excellent photos, and it is well laid out. However, it is intended for very specific and limited uses, which are not really disclosed in the product description. So, read on to learn what I had to discover about its limitations through trial and error:
   
   This is NOT a book on the theory and history of straw bale construction. It spends very little, if any, time outlining the different styles of bale construction, nor the variety of techniques and details that have been tried over the years, nor the many factors - environmental, structural, practical - affecting a particular construction project that might make the builder choose one technique or detail over another. If you are a new owner/builder at the conceptual stage, trying to decide if a bale house is right for you, or how exactly to build the bale house that is best for you, this is NOT the book you want.
   
   This book focuses on one philosophy of design only. It is a guide, not on how to build a bale house, but on how to build one specific bale house. What I find troubling is that it does not even explain, in most cases, why the methods being described were chosen. If you already know a good deal about bale construction, you will quickly read between the lines to see why the authors consider their chosen techniques most suitable for their situation - I did, and quickly determined that little in the book was applicable to my own situation. Ok, fair enough. But, if you do not already understand the basics of straw bale architecture, I can easily imagine the reader following this book down what might well be the wrong path for his or her own project and, at best, wasting a lot of time in the design stage considering inappropriate techniques. At worst, the reader could end up making some very poor and costly choices without realizing why they are poor.
   
   So, what is this book good for? It presents a straight-forward, step-by-step guide to project planning for a particular type of builder attempting a particular type of project. It does not present enough technical details or drawings to be a comprehensive construction manual (what book does?), so it will not take the place of preparing blueprints or having them prepared for you. But, it is nonetheless an excellent place to start IF AND ONLY IF you are...
   
   1) ...Poor, or otherwise interested in building a small, simple, budget-oriented house for a single family. Don't get me wrong: the house this book describes is perfectly sound, perfectly livable, and should last longer than most conventional houses, but it is definitely "no-frills." Frankly, all Americans should be focusing on more modest, economical, and sustainable housing, regardless of income level. Be that as it may, if you are wanting something bigger - multiple stories, luxury oriented, more architecturally unique - you will not find it here.
   
   2) ...Part of a large community or very large family interested in helping you build this house quickly through a massive and intensive volunteer effort. If your access to volunteer resources is more modest and your construction schedule, therefore, more relaxed, you could well run into serious problems trying to follow the path laid out in this book. If you plan on hiring only professionals to build your house for you, well, you probably shouldn't build a bale house in the first place, but at the least you will need to find different books.
   
   3) ...West of the Mississippi and building in a very dry environment. All throughout this book you will find details - 3 string bales, metal rebar inserted into the bales, moderately sized roof overhangs, cement-based plaster with ground-to-ceiling stucco mesh - that are either unique to the West or generally appropriate to a desert or prairie climate. For builders in other areas, most of this book likely does not apply to you.
   
   4) ...Interested in a load-bearing straw bale design. See my note on rebar, cement plaster, and stucco mesh above. There is also much in the book on full structural window and door bucks as well as building a roof-bearing-assembly top plate. Of course, there is nothing wrong with load-bearing bale walls, but in many parts of the country they are no longer the most widely-accepted design solution.

5 comments about The Complete Handbook of Sand Casting.

1. This has got to be the sand casting bible, because for one it really does start at the begining. This book will treach you how to start from scratch, build your own furnace, and how to make the anciliary equipment. Most importantly it is written by one of the experts in the field, he will take stepby step through your first casting, and teach you how to figure out what went wrong. So if this is what you want to do this is the book for you.



2. A well thought out book with easy to follow instructions. A good reference book for the novice foundry man. I would suggest this book for anyone even remotely interested in casting and foundry work.



3. I found this old, but somewhat useable. The methods were not explained as well as I would have hoped, but I gleaned some info from them.



4. When I needed a part for a project that I just couldn't buy, I decided to try sand casting it. This was the first book I bought, and I don't regret it. It has a great deal of technical knowledge to offer, and it's written in a very accessible way for the amateur like myself. Mostly though, I get a great mental picture of Mr. Ammen when reading his words. I've known crusty tradesmen like I imagine Ammen to be, and it makes me sad to think that they are a dying breed. What a world, full of artists, amateurs, and pencil pushers, with few that know how anything really works. I think it's worth buying just for the colorful prose.
   
   A topic like metal casting could fill an encyclopedia easily, so I think it is great praise of Ammen to say that this book gives you just enough rope to hang yourself. Besides, anybody who's ever done anything knows that the only way to learn how to do something is to do it. So get this book, mix up some green sand, and git'er done.



5. An excellent book of information on the art and science of sand casting in production shops. There exist a cornucopia of tips, tricks and good advice culled from years of experience in this book. And it is fun to read.

4 comments about Subaru Legacy & Forester 2000 thru 2006: All models (Haynes Repair Manual).

1. to tell you the truth, it is quite lacking. important things like how to change the cabin filter were omitted completly. actual pictures on how to change spark plugs and many other reasonable chores on this car were not present. haynes really needs to do some work to get this manual up to par.



2. Despite RnB's negative review of this manual, I went ahead and got one and it's fine for what I need. It's up to Haynes normal standard, i.e. some good clear parts, some confusing ones, some good photos and some unclear ones, but there is enough in here to get most jobs done without too much pain. I have used it to work on the cooling system successfully.
   
   By the way, there are 2 pages on spark plug replacement, with photos, and the cabin air filter replacement is covered in the Subaru owners manual, so don't be put off. Subaru's are pretty bullet proof so you shouldn't need this too much, but it's always good to have a manual like this on the workshop shelf.



3. Typical Haynes fair. For basic maintenance, this will help you get the job done. Don't expect this to be a factory manual.
   
   This book is identical in content (word for word) to the Chilton manual. Their layout is slightly different. Buy one, but not both. Chilton seems to have larger diagrams, Haynes has more efficient print layout. Take your pick.



4. Amazon's performance was trouble free and quite easy, but I certainly wish I would have been notified that my engine, a 6 cylinder, was NOT included in the book. I'll still hold on to it as a reference for other repairs, but I'm pretty erked that my motor is not covered in the book because that's the reason I bought the book. Oh well.

5 comments about Lean Manufacturing That Works: Powerful Tools for Dramatically Reducing Waste and Maximizing Profits.

1. Now I have a few things to say when a job interviewer asks what do I know about Lean Manufacturing. I have been out of Mfg. for seven years and I needed to brush up on things. Read other reviews for more in depth data.



2. I read many reviews of many different books before deciding to purchase this one. This was really the first book I've read regarding Lean Manufacturing. My background is in computers and electrical engineering so a lot of manufacturing terminology was new to me. If you are a newbie to Lean Manufacturing this seems like a pretty good place to start. Actually, before you read this you should consider reading "The Goal" by Eli Goldratt (which seems to be an industry standard in manufaturing).
   
   For what seems like a pretty dry topic the author did an excellent job keeping it interesting.



3. Bought for all my students / consultants. Very practical and easy to read - they like it and complements Kepner Tregoe's Lean course



4. This book gave a great overview and easy to understand concepts of lean manufacturing. I would recommend it to anyone who has heard of the term "lean manufacturing" but hasn't really studied it. In a humorous manner, the first part of the book explains how lean goes against the flow of traditional manufacturing. The second part of the book explains a week long study of current state and expectations for future state while understanding "continuous" is the key in continuous improvement.



5. I did not like the style of writting. Many "joke"-alike phrases that simply make the number of pages grow. It seemed to me that this is not about writting a book but simply publishing notes from one of the sessions the writer conducted.

4 comments about Microsoft® Office Visio® 2003 Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)).

1. This is a well-written and easily understood intro to Visio, which does a good job of covering diagrams, flowcharts, Gantt charts, floorplans, and the like. But, it has absolutely no information on building database diagrams with Visio, for which I deducted a star.



2. Well organized and easy to study. Suits multiple learning styles. The CD has some excellent additional information.



3. I really enjoyed going through this book. It is laid out well and has lessons you can do to help you learn.



4. This book "Microsoft Office Visio Step by Step" is yet another example of an almost useless manual, that barely duplicates what is available in the online manual for Visio.
   
   It basically consits of screen shots and procedures.
   
   It doesn't sit back and say "well, what might a user want to do here? Oh, you want to create a circle with center and radius? Then look for such and such a shape in such and such a stencil." Etc.
   
   Because it lacks this "meta-contemplation", this manual is only as good as the programmers - it is basically like talking to the programmers, in their mindset. (I'm a programmer: this is NOT good). If what you need to draw is exactly covered by Visio, this manual may help you. If what you need to draw is not exactly covered by one of Visio's pre-packaged setups, this manual is not much help.
   
   I work in an intensely graphical field - VLSI design. But Visio has no pre-packaged setup for my area --- the "electrical engineering" and "digital design" stencils and templates are not very useful. (This opinion confirmed by surveying my fellow engineers at Intel and AMD - all of us want to use Visio, but all find Visio sorely lacking.)
   
   This manual is utterly useless with respect to advanced Visio, e.g. using ShapeSheets to create "smart" shapes.
   
   ---
   
   Because I have mentioned my employers' names, past and present, I must add this disclaimer: this review is my own personal opinion, not the official position of Intel and AMD.
   
   Although I daresay many engineers at Intel and AMD agree with these sentiments, it may be hard to put this on the record.

2 comments about Contemporary Engineering Economics (4th Edition).

1. This is an excellent text for an engineering economics class. It concisely explains and demonstrates basic ideas and financial concepts in a logical manner. The only draw back I could detect was the author's nomemclature, which he introduces at the first of the text. If you don't memorize it early on, it becomes difficult to understand quickly. The professor who taught the Engineering Economics class I took was none other than Chan Park himself (guess what the required text was!).



2. There may be useful information in this text, but it's hard to trust anything that's so poorly written.
   
   Page 32: ". . . the answer to each question is provided by one of financial statements."
   
   Page 42: "Investment activities include such as purchasing, financing . . ."
   
   I noticed an average of one error per page, although this seemed to get better as I read past the third chapter. (Maybe I just lost the ability to tell!) Now, I haven't noticed any substantive errors, but it's quite possible that one of the frequent mistakes in language caused the meaning of a sentence to change. In addition, the errors are just distracting! Imagine reading along, and not being able to get through a single page without doing a double-take because a sentence doesn't scan. And I'm not even trying to proof-read, just trying to understand the text!
   
   All that being said, this seems to be a thorough treatment of the subject, and I guess I can infer that my professor thinks the content is reliable. But this text reads like a product manual that's been poorly translated from another language!

5 comments about Subject To Change: Creating Great Products & Services for an Uncertain World: Adaptive Path on Design (Adaptive Path).

1. I think I had the essence of this book by the time I got to page 30: Times have changed, and packing in a checklist of features is not enough to gain marketshare anymore.
   
   They talk a lot about having an "experience stragegy". I understand this to be building a product by aiming to meet the user's needs. Google Calendar is a good example. They stole a large portion of the online calendar market, even though users were already heavily invested into Yahoo and Hotmail's email/calendar. They did this by sitting down with people who used calendars a lot, and finding out what they wanted in a calendar (not exactly rocket science, I know).
   
   Kodak is another company that had a developed experience stragegy. When Kodak cameras first came out, they reduced the task of taking photos from one that required you to be a technician, to something anyone can do. They did this by selling the entire "experience" - you purchase Kodak film rolls (before this film was on expensive and fragile plates), put it into your Kodak camera, point & shoot, then send the film into Kodak for processing. Apple is another good example of a company that has an experience strategy.
   
   There are lots of other interesting examples and an anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book. There is even a whole chapter on Agile Development, both from software and hardware perspectives.
   
   In summary, the message of the book is that we need to design products and services that deliver a positive experience to the user (notice "user", they take issue with the word "consumer"). The book expounds on this with much detail and examples, but I believe this is the main message.
   
   Unfortunately I found this book extremely hard to get through, due to the "dry" writing style. It made me feel as if I were listening to a boring professor's lecture. There may be better books on this subject, something from Seth Godin for example.



2. Subject to Change presents an excellent strategic overview of new product development practices for media and physical interaction products based upon the consulting practice of Adaptive Path. It mentions, and briefly summarizes such practices as paper prototyping, persona's, wireframe mockups, storyboards and Wizard of Oz simulations. Several historical and current examples such as Apple's iPod and George Eastman's original camera are briefly highlighted. The book definitely provides a strategic overview of current product development practices, highlighting those of "Experience Design". It is most suitable as a supplement to Ulrich and Eppinger's Product Design and Development for an MBA product development course or as a stand-alone strategy guide for an Art School course in new media design. For the practitioner, this book certainly highlights modern practices of experience design and product development as they affect interaction design, industrial design, and the new media industries. However, as a strategic guide, it is lacking in the level of detail necessary for a cookbook to carry out a specific design project. Perhaps the book should be supplemented by a website with detailed examples of each of the development practices mentioned in this guide. For example, Adaptive Path, the media strategy firm whose practices are highlighted in this volume has illustrated on their own website the development methods they carried out in developing, the Aurora video prototype for a future Mozilla browser with both textual scenarios, outlines of the development effort, and several short video clips. If this brief strategy guide were supplemented with several such practice scenarios, the strategies mentioned in this book could be readily carried out by any competent practitioner.
   
   This review is based on my experience as a new product development consultant in the Information Technology field for Arthur D. Little, Digital Equipment Corporation and several multimedia startups.
   
   -- Ira Laefsky



3. SUBJECT TO CHANGE: CREATING GREAT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR AN UNCERTAIN WORLD provides basics for designing products for web software and competitive advantage alike - but to limit it to computer collections would be a shame. It's the college-level or public library collection specializing in innovative business solutions who will find it a powerful discussion of strategy and futuristic thinking processes, packed with real-world examples.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



4. In an accessible tone, Subject to Change articulates what should now be taken for granted in product design: that products designed around real peoples' needs and desires will win over those engineered to meet theoretical expectations. Using Adaptive Path's experience as examples (and perhaps emphasising the consultancy's achievements more often than necessary), the authors make an easily-digestible case for implementing an experience design strategy in favour of blindly over-engineering complex products.
   
   The book suggests that engineering-led product optimization improves but doesn't innovate. On the other hand, placing real customers at the center of the design process is shown as a shortcut to delivering more relevant, useful and successful products.
   
   Adaptive Path are arguably thought leaders in this space, and the style of writing here shows their desire to advertise the company's experience. The reader is perhaps reminded too often that the successes in the examples given were due to Adaptive Path's involvement, and that adopting their processes in particular can help any product designer. This doesn't add credibility to the case studies, because someone buying an Adaptive Path book is likely to already be satisfied with the authors' credentials before reading.
   
   Subject to Change will resonate well with designers of all disciplines, but it's perhaps other departments that would benefit the most by considering the adoption of an experience-led strategy. There may not be a great deal of new thought contained here, but as an easy-to-read introduction to the merits of customer-focussed design, Subject to Change would be a useful addition to an engineer's or product manager's bookshelf.



5. 'Subject to Change' is a valuable addition to the modern business person's bookshelf. I should note that this would be an especially great tool for marketers and publicists, research and development teams, as well as application developers.
   
   The Adaptive Path team took a fungible approach to writing this book, as an organization that is interested in anticipation of the ever-changing needs of the expectations of their customers.
   
   In the late Nineteenth century, inventions and innovations were largely based on new advances in technology available at the time. The kludgy inconvenience of these early technologies were simply 'part of the experience.' This book sites Eastman's Kodak Camera as perhaps the first example of a company having the foresight to anticipate a customer's needs. Until then, photographers were hobbyists, scientists, and tech geeks of the age. Eastman's brilliant vision of making technology more accessible to the rest of the populous with the philosophy of "You press the button, and we do the rest," was a great bridge between the customers who wanted to take photos and a company that could provide a service. That service being the development of the film, processing the plates, and mailing the finished photos to the customer.
   
   The book uses this model to encourage shifting our traditional business mindset to anticipate our customer's needs while developing software, hardware, or other devises. By empathizing with the target audience, and my making yourself a part of the audience yourself, you may wish to create an experience for your users that has the potential to seamlessly integrate with their lives. When marketers or designers use the traditional mode--that people are sheep--without valuing the feedback of the audience, innovation will grind to a halt. I emphatically agree with the Adaptive Path on this theme. As a publicist, I value customer feedback as much as I value my own creative ideas.
   
   Another great specimen, and perhaps a more modern one, is the iPod/iTunes Music store. The mp3 player was already invented, but Steve Jobs created the experience of browsing music and buying music for the device, anticipating the customer's needs. One could also argue that the iPhone is also the product of this school of thought, combining the need for a cell phone with the music player experience, all in one well designed device.
   
   I have a niece with juvenile diabetes, and this book gave me a peek into the development of something that she uses every day to enjoy a happy life. There is a relatively new medical product developed called an insulin pump. I can testify that she is much happier using this pump than her previous regiment of daily shots. When developing this pump, diabetics tested a mock-up of the device, and offered feedback as to what would work for them. The developers of the pump changed the design of the belt used while swimming or in the shower, as well as other practical concerns. A side-note is that I was reading this section of the book while my nieces were happily making sandcastles and going in and out of the water! Without the user input, the device might be uncomfortable and unwieldy and certainly not easy to wear at the beach. This reminds me that the first undergarments for women were made by men, but the true innovations in practicality and comfort came when women started designing them!
   
   In conclusion, this is a great book and I have started personally to rethink the feedback I am getting from my customers to be more empathetic. Empathizing with a person's needs in the present and the future will prove to be a better model to provide easy to use, and enriching technologies, customer service solutions, and ingenuity.

5 comments about Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Using Woodworking Tools (Complete Illustrated Guide).

1. Overall this book is very well illustrated, it contains information on some tools and put an emphasis on hand tools.
   
   The book is basically a catalog of the different tools and the basic techniques to use them.
   
   I was expecting to at least have some discussions on how to set them up, and care for them. I was also hoping to find more detail discussion on how to chose a power tool (other than you can find some great bargain on used items).
   There is a small section on sharpening but I guess you need to buy the book dedicated to the subject to go anywhere.



2. Publications by Lonnie Bird are always excellent and informative to woodworkers, and this one achieves the same high level. I am enjoying reading Illustrated Guide to Using Woodworking Tools and looking forward to more time in the workshop with this publication.



3. This is a good book. However, Lonnie Bird writes not as clear as Gary Rogowski, Andy Ray or especially Kelly Mehler. This is also applied to his "Band saw" book.
   There is no clear analysis of cons and pros of different tools. Use of the tools does not contain alternative approaches too. He really thinks that only high end equipment is useful.



4. I began woodworking about one year ago and started by taking some classes at the local woodworking store. I had the idea in my head to build a wooden chest and finding a good starting place was not easy. Most of the wood workers I encounter are all over the spectrum of skill. No one really had a comprehensive method for teaching woodworking or where to start with the tools of woodworking. I think that this book gives a great start when it comes to selection of necessary tools as well as some general knowledge of how to use them. Keep in mind that a book can not accurately describe the pressure and overall feel of how to use a Plane or any other tool for that matter. These kinds of skills must come from doing.
   
   I have all the other Taunton press books in the "Complete Illustrated" set and I think that together I have a great reference set to begin designing and working with wood. They also all match each other and this makes my bookshelf look good as well. I would recommend the hardcover over the soft cover because it can be more easily used in the shop this way.



5. los libros de Taunton son muy buenos en general y de una calidad gráfica fuera de serie.En temas de woodworking aquí en España en libros estamos muy por debajo y una guía como esta es una ayuda extraordinaria. lo recomiendo y deseo que se publique una version en español para los que nos cuesta lidiar con el inglés.
   Muy bueno el envío aunque no tenemos las ventajas de los USA.
   Enhorabuena al distribuidor por el servicio.

5 comments about Tactical Advantage: A Definitive Study Of Personal Small-Arms Tactics.

1. Although probably new material for most readers, this should only be a refresher for those who have taken a few tactical shooting courses and served in law enforcement or the military.
   
   Chapters cover different obstacles such as; corners, doorways, stairs, T-intersections, 4-way intersections, etc... The ample supply of clear images and useful diagrams help explain the concepts. Suarez includes a chapter on mindset and another on nonshooting confrontations. Although many similar books cover mindset, it is rare to see a discussion of a nonshooting event.
   
   The UberTactical uniforms and Front Sight logos were a distraction for me. The wide range to topics covered did not allow for a complete discussion on any of them and leads to confusion on who the target audience is supposed to be; homeowner, SWAT team member or Infantry soldier.
   
   A good book that is worth your time to read so long as you are not expecting "A definitive study..."



2. This is an excellent book to learn clearing and tactical gun handling. There is a lot of pics and diagrams to show you the most tactical and the proper way of dealing with clearing. You will be happy if you buy this book.



3. This book is a great overview of individual tactical movement in a hostile environment. The only thing that surprised me was the lack of mention about a lot of ricochets travelling down walls about 6-8 inches off their surface and how that applies to your location relative to walls while moving and standing in that hostile environment. Regardless, it's still a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone.



4. The author does an excellent job laying out the tactics used for Close Quarters Battles. I bought this book to learn the basics of CQB and the tactics used by tactical operators and I was very satisfied!



5. Most practical shooting instructors will refer to the "combat triad" of 1) mindset 2) skills and 3) tactics. Mindset is your frame of mind when faced with a threat, skills are the handling of your weapon and tactics are what you do with yourself and weapon. Suarez touches on all of these things in this book. His discussion of mindset shows a massive ego and he gives very little info on weapons skills. The reader should ignore these parts. If you can't hit with your weapon under ideal range circumstances you should concentrate on that before getting a book on tactics. And you need to set your mind at ease with the idea of using a gun to take a life in self defense probably before you even get a defensive gun. Once you've got the right frame of mind and the skills, it is time to begin realistically thinking about what you would do when faced with a potential bad-guy. As stated this is mostly a book on tactics in urban environments, and it excels at this. There are chapters on each of the many obstacles faced in house clearing. There are very good illustrations to help you understand what the text says. Let's face it. The majority of home owners aren't going to get to go to Gunsite or other high end training schools so this book may be all they have. This is a book that will help you face the unknown bump in the night. But you have to get it, study it, and most importantly PRACTICE it. In your underwear at 2AM is not the time to be trying to remember exactly what target indicators you are supposed to be looking for...or how to pie a corner.

4 comments about The Meat Buyers Guide : Meat, Lamb, Veal, Pork and Poultry.

1. The guide is easy to follow and logical. The pages are laminated so that the guide can be used in kitchen environments



2. At $65.00, this book is primarily intended for libraries, but also for those who often buy and cook meat. It is an encyclopedia with lots of color illustrations of the various animals, and cuts of meat.



3. I bought this book based on a review in Saveur. It did not give me the information that I wanted and at $50+, I thought that it was very overpriced.



4. A well documented handbook of most meat in the market.It has beautiful pictures and detail describtions of each cut of meat.
   
   From the scientific names of all muscle to the skeletal chart of the animal.The detail location, structure,and names of bones to the exact cutting point to seperate each muscle..it's awesome.
   
   The addition of the poultry, turkey, duck/goose, and game birds section makes the guide book an even interesting and worthwhile purchase..
   
   For students who are in the culinary courses this guide book will provide an in-depth knowledge of all the cuts of meat in the commercial market and help them to have a further understanding on this topic "BUTCHERING".
   
   The guide book is a must have for people in the meat industry,it acts as a great reference book like what an encyclopedia does..