The Definitive Guide to Colorful Insulators by Michael Bruner (2000, Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this book. It's best features include high quality color photos of many rare insulators found in some of the insulator hobby's finest collections. The many colorful photos can aid collectors to identify color names used in the insulator collecting hobby. The book focuses on glass and porcelain insulators with a few unusual examples of other materials used to insulate telephone, telegraph and electrical lines from around the world. The book also publishes interesting details on what makes an insulator scarce compared to others and some historical details on some insulators. Finally, it provides an estimated value for each insulator shown.

This book may not be for you if you are primarily interested in researching glass or porcelain insulator manufacturers. It's better served as a coffee table pictorial reference book to brighten your living room. It may not for you if you are looking for current insulator values either as the book has not been updated since its inception. There are other more comprehensive books available for these purposes. Nevertheless, the book is well written and very pleasing to the eyes of anyone interested in collecting insulators. A final strength is the fact that it contains a wide variety of types of insulators from around the world, in both glass and porcelain. I recommend this book to any serious collector.