Slot Car Bible by Robert Schleicher (2002, Paperback, Illustrated)

It's a good book. It's got some fun track designs. Robert Schleicher demonstrates the depth of knowledge you can pick up when you stay active in a hobby for four decades.

But it's not all good.

Some of the techniques he shows off don't always translate into an understandable way to the written page. Some of the photographs are positioned in places where they actually add confusion instead of clarification. More than once, I found myself asking: "What does this picture have to do with what he's describing?". It turned out to be nothing, that the photo was placed on (between one to several)pages before or after the subject. It may have reduced printing cost to publish it this way, but didn't add value to the book.

Speaking of printing costs, there are many photographs in the book, a good deal of them in black and white. Okay if they are historical, but cheezy if done to reduce costs.

Because many parts of the book are not laid out clear enough for a beginner, and a good deal of the subject matter is not going to be of much use for veterans of the hobby, I believe the term "Bible" in the title is more for marketing than an accurate description of the publication.

The book is not a flop. It includes good ideas. It's just not a comprehensive work on the study of slot cars.

JW