Rating: 
Summary: Good for beginners, but full of outdated analogies.
Review: ... The wording used in this guide is the best I have found. That is, it's the best while describing exactly how to crochet different stitches - not the overabundant use of analogy. While enjoying the ease of following her instructions, I find myself wanting to scream everytime I'm reminded (or is it reprimanded) that I am making lace in the air and that my crochet hook is not a plow or a hoe for gardening. I hold my hook differently than the author demands, because it works better for me. My hands ache when I try it her way.
I don't enjoy being told this is my first day on the job, a baby's first step, or that I'm carving a turkey.
All in all, I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because of the opinionated tone and because I feel the illustrations should be easier to decifer than some of the small black and white line drawings in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Crocheting in Plain English
Review: I decided I wanted to crochet and ordered this book. It was absolutely wonderful! The instructions were fitting for the title - they were in "plain English" and very easily understood. I had never crocheted and am now completing my third project in just a few short weeks. I have shared this book with one friend in particular that has been crocheting for years. She has now mastered stitches that she has never before quite understood. I would recommend this book for crocheters of all levels.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic resource!
Review: I knew nothing about crochet when I picked up this book, except that I was interested in learning it. I was crocheting within hours! The instructions make it sooo incredibly easy - this book is exactly what I was looking for. I'm looking forward to buying the author's knitting book and learning how to knit, too! I can't recommend this book highly enough for anyone who wants to learn crochet but is afraid it'll be too hard.
Rating:
Summary: It taught me to crochet.
Review: I learned to knit in Ms. Righetti's "Knitting in Plain English". With that knowledge, even when some of her directions were hard to understand, I let common sense take over. I am dissappointed in her lessons at the end of the book. I felt they were very "dated" and "grandma-ish". Crocheting is so trendy and hip right now, I would have enjoyed patterns that were more modern. (Yes, I know this book was written in '88.) So, all in all this is a good reference book for crocheting. But I wouldn't recommend it for the patterns in the lesson chapters.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not quite there!
Review: I like this book and the way M's Righetti writes about crochet and her love of the craft. The instructions are generally good but the diagrams leave a lot to be desired. They are difficult (to me) to understand and I wouldn't choose this as a first crochet book for anyone wanting to learn to crochet.Part of the reason for my opinion is that M's Righetti has a very strict view on how a crochet hook is supposed to be held. There is more than one way to hold a crochet hook and a person should be able to hold the hook comfortably in her/his hand. M's Righetti's recommendation of how to hold the hook makes my wrist sore and I have a great deal of difficulty crocheting in that position. I have been crocheting now for over 30 years and I get good results by holding the hook the way it comfortably fits my hand. Outside of her reprimands/criticisms of the "proper" way to hold the hook and the difficult to understand diagrams, this is a good book and I recommend it highly for folks who already know a little about crocheting and want to learn more. Stitches are explained well and her instructions on cutting a piece of crocheted work is definitely liberating. So buy the book and expand your knowledge of one of the greatest needle arts, crochet.
Rating:
Summary: I learned to crochet from this book
Review: I personally learned to crochet from this book years ago. I found the instructions to be easy to understand and have strive for that feeling in my own how-to-crochet website. She takes you through everything you need to know from how to pick out yarn, to how to hold the needle to the more complicated stitches.
In response to those who have complained about the holding the needle part, you may have failed to understand that the manner one holds the needle directly correlates to the speed with which you can crochet. Also, diagrams and pictures are a crutch which is available to help those who are more visual learners and should be used to verify that the work is done correctly.
I still highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great instruction book for those who want to learn crochet
Review: I read a crochet instruction booklet written toward young girls to learn how to crochet about a month ago. I wish I would have had this book to begin with instead. The author is a professional crochet teacher, and she takes you through each lesson carefully and thoroughly, to learn new stitches. Once you've read through and practiced with this book, you will be able to confidently (and easily) crochet just about anything!
Rating: 
Summary: OK for new crocheters
Review: I'm glad I got this book at a closeout price, because as an experienced crocheter, I didn't find much of value in this book other than a couple of edging and motif patterns. On the other hand, I probably would have appreciated this when I was teaching myself to crochet. The author has a pleasing writing style, but the book is peppered with Mommie Dearest anecdotes that I could have done without. Maybe her own experiences with her mother are what made her so rigid about some aspects of crocheting, such as how to hold the hook. And, just to add a pet peeve of mine: Pattern instructions are set in italics, which are more difficult to read than straight type. As any publication designer worth her salt knows, italics should be used sparingly --certainly not for directions.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for beginners
Review: It's worth buying this book just for the pattern of Queen Anne's lace. About a year ago, I decided to take up crocheting again because I felt I was getting arthritis in my fingers. My mother had taught me to make granny squares when I was a child, but I wanted something more challenging. Also, my mother never taught me how to read a pattern. I used this book to teach myself how to read patterns. I am amazed that I can now make something now like Queen Anne's lace. The pattern simplifies instructions from a baby blanket pattern printed in the 40s. If you're like me and have no spatial sense, you'll appreciate a book like this with simple, easy to follow instructions.
Rating:
Summary: Best reference available
Review: This book has the best detailed explanations of what you are doing when you make each stitch. It contains clear instructions for complex stitches that aren't even mentioned in other books. It is the only book I know that includes information on how to design a crochet work WITHOUT A PATTERN to fit ANY need. And the chapter on the different techniques for fixing mistakes is worth more than all the other crochet instruction books I have.
Personally I enjoyed the writer's anecdotes and both the crochet history and culture that they revealed and they holistic approach to crocheting that they espoused. I'm a Southerner and I'm used to people who talk like that.
That said, it's not a book I use every day, only when I need to look something up. I made two of the projects in the back, the blanket and the sampler, when I was starting out. But when I want to try a new stitch or look at detailed instructions on how to do an old one I reach for it. When I need a flower accent or a simple border I turn to this book first. Now that ponchos are "in" I pulled out her spiderweb instructions to make up as a poncho. It is my favorite crochet reference.
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