Mr. Howe's "9 Biggest Pitfalls on Home Construction" should be listed among the "9 Biggest Rip-offs in Publishing". The text is equivalent to 10 typed pages (really)--stretched to an encyclopaedic 29 pages by supersized fonts and margins. (The rest of the "book" consists of reproducing the same next-to-useless checklists over and over for bulk.) The "pitfalls" include such eye-opening discoveries that construction in winter may be delayed by cold weather (yes, really.) This book should sell for a quarter, minus a fair compensation for insulting the reader's intelligence. I feel Mr. Howe owes me money.

First, to be fair, the author's make some mildly helpfull points. However, anyone who has spent even a few hours interviewing builders and/or architects will already be familiar with most of the points made. The book is very brief. Only the first 30 pages are actual text. The remainder of the book is example forms (4 copies of each to add girth to book, no doubt). I should think that anyone, after building one home, could write as well or better.

I usually don't write reviews, but felt I had to when I saw the negative review listed here. I was surprised to see so much animosity in such a few lines, and was upset because I found the book so helpful. In fact because remodeling was all new to me, the chapter on getting references properly, paid for itself. I would recommend this book to anyone contemplating hiring anyone to work on their home. Thanks! Jeanne Compton Jencompt@aol.com