Sail Power : THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SAILS AND SAIL HANDLING

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely excellent
Review: I heartly agree with Kip Putnam... This is perhaps the best book for sailors to read, it should be in every avid sailors library. Fully comprehensive, it covers basic sailing theory but also explains in easy to comprehend english the finer most complicated details fo sailing. I purchased the hardcover version in 1976 and have used it consistantly ever since. Mr. Putnam's comment, "No other book does so great a job of explaining the sport from beginniners to professionals." is oh so true.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely excellent
Review: I heartly agree with Kip Putnam... This is perhaps the best book for sailors to read, it should be in every avid sailors library. Fully comprehensive, it covers basic sailing theory but also explains in easy to comprehend english the finer most complicated details fo sailing. I purchased the hardcover version in 1976 and have used it consistantly ever since. Mr. Putnam's comment, "No other book does so great a job of explaining the sport from beginniners to professionals." is oh so true.

Rating:
Summary: This book is out of date.
Review: Much of this old "bible" of sailing has been out of date for some time. The worst areas are those regarding the physics of sailing. Old saws such as the "slot effect" and the "aerofoil lift effect" are no longer given credence in the industry. As a partical guide for the beginning sailor, the rest of the book is useable, although there are many better books available on the market. The Glennans Sailing Manual, for one. I would not waste my money on this out of print, out of date book.

Rating:
Summary: Sheer excellence
Review: This is perhaps the best book for sailors to read, Fully comprehensive, it covers basic ideas like the slot theory, but also explains the Kutta-Joukowski theory that defies it. Ross goes on to describe other simple things as well as things that are not so simple. The book is well laid-out; chapters are in good order, more complex details towards the end of the book. What the table of contents does not tell about the location of a particular subject, the complete index does. At least as much testing of these theories as research went into the writing of this book. Although the thickness of the book attests to the complexity of the sport, its author explains each detail in a wonderfully simple style. No other book does so great a job of explaining the sport from beginniners to professionals