I left large-firm corporate law practice for the public interest world after 12 long weeks - but if I had had this book, I probably would have been able to leave in six! Over the years I have offered lots of advice to other lawyers contemplating the same move -- but now I won't have to. I'll just direct them "To the Great Firm Escape." It has everything everyone needs to know to get out of that dreary law firm job, particularly overcoming the psychological hurdles, which are usually more daunting than the real ones. So stop complaining about your job - and buy this book!

I bought this book about a year ago and was immediately captured by the possibilities of different types of barbeques. I would have never been able to dream up these types of structures. The stucco ones that you can purchase preassembled are a joke compared to these. Aside from the design ideas, this book only gives a brief description of different building techniques for masonry, electrical and plumbing. The reason I did not give this book 5 stars is because it is not thorough enough with the "how to" aspect, the depth of experience that you need to complete each project or the costs involved (some of them would easily be ten grand). The book should be called "Backyard Barbeque Ideas for Your Contractor". You will have to be experienced in several trades or do a TON of research in order to do these projects yourself (I learned the true meaning of the term "learning curve"). I had zero experience, so being tenacious (stubborn), as usual, I figured I would give it a shot. I looked through the book several times to decide which style I liked the most and then began drawing plans based on a space in my back patio. After working on and off for nine months...yada, yada, yada...I have a beautiful brick and slate summer kitchen (covering a forty sq ft area), fully accessorized with sink, fridge and stainless grill. I used a concrete block structure covered with facebrick, which may have been overkill. But, I live in Florida and am fully convinced that this will be the only structure left standing if a category 5 hurricane ever goes through my backyard. One last word of advice...if you decide to take on one of these projects yourself, be patient, work slow and do it right the first time. It was a great learning experience and I owe it all to the inspiration of this book.

I'm considering building a BBQ/firepit in my back yard and this book has been extremely helpful in presenting various designs and the pros and cons of each. It gives tips on the construction of various designs from the concrete slab to the chimney. Offers designs for gas grills and charcoal/wood grills. The only down side is that the books seem overweighted with luxury setups. This is unfortunate since more people who pick up this book are looking to either do it themselves or hire someone to do a simple backyard pit inexpensively. It's definately worth a look if you are interested in creating a backyard grill.

Extremely user-friendly guide for building BBQ's and/or outside kitchens, particularly for the beginner. Sketches and drawings provided with precision detail (despite having to convert measurements from Imperial to Metric!!). Extremely insightful look into the variations of the simple outdoor BBQ and fireplace. Provides a thoroughly detailed journey from inception to completion and all the bits in between. Highly recommended to beginner's as a teaching platform and to professional's as a terrific refresher guide!!