I originally found this book at my local library. After checking it out and working with it and the CD, I just had to buy this book! It's a keeper. I had been learning the guitar 20 some odd years ago, and wanted to pick it up again. I knew most of the basic chords, but couldn't put them into anything that sounded "musical."
This book works through a variety of techniques: hammer-ons, pull-offs, bass runs, plucking, travis picking, and carter style strumming. I love Bluegrass music, but the styles learned here can be applied to any style of music on the acustic guitar.
The songs that can be learned are pretty good too: Railroad Bill, The Cuckoo, Wildwood Flower, and several others. One neat thing is that the author plays each song in a different musical style as you learn it! There is also a short Blues section too.
I wouldn't say this is the only book to have, but it's a great one to Begin with if you are just starting out.

Acoustic Guitar Styles For Beginning And Intermediate Guitarists by guitar authority and instructor Larry Sandberg is a very fine self-teaching guide featuring essential instructions as to basic chords, picking and plucking patterns, using alternating bass notes, and a variety of guitar styles such as melodic finger picking and country blues. Practice pieces (all of which are real songs) offer exercises galore to hone one's skill. A finely rendered audio CD enhanced with this staunch and useful tool for student musicians of the acoustic guitar.

Well, if you've been playing banjo for a while, you may not need this. But if you're starting out (like me), you'll find it invaluable. It's a slim line book that will fit in your banjo case behind the neck (yes, its that slim). And its just pages of chord diagrams. The sections of the book are different tuninings (ex: G tunining, C tuning, etc.) So if you've tuned to a different key, you can quickly see how to make any chord. It also covers multiple ways to make the same chord, in case you're up the neck. I'm going through "Earl Scruggs and the five string banjo" to learn to play, and this little book is the perfect accessory to reference.

Starting with an overview of the instrument, the book then proceeds with detailed instructions on set-up and repair, Novices will not be threatened by the contents; experts will not be offended.

Larry Sandberg does an adequate job of taking the reader through the "basics" of acoustic guitar design, maintenance and history. However, his obvious bias towards Martin sometimes overpowers the strengths of the book. Anyone who is remotely familiar with American acoustic guitar history knows that Martin has always been a leader in the industry - few would dispute this. But, Sandberg's prose would have us believe that Christian Fredrick Martin brought the holy-grail of guitars down from the mountain with the 10 Commandments! Obviously at odds with Sandberg, some of us feel that Gibson has been at least as influential, if not more so, on guitar design and the buying habits of the 20th century guitar-buying public. What elusive credit Larry gives to Gibson generally arrives in a back-handed fashion, making sure that the reader is left believing that Gibson is always a notch below the "real" leaders, such as Martin (of course), SCGC (Santa Cruz Guitar Co.) and Taylor. Please, Larry: a little less Martin-droning and a bit more objective review. The book is worthy of reading however, if you can seperate the facts from the opinions.

Face it - you can't hang-out with guitar people if you have
no idea what nut width is! I decided to get one book
to comprehend the "acoustic guitar', and chose this one.
It is fantastic.

It's not necessary to read beginning to end. The author
organized it so well that a quick look up will fill you
in on the spot. I have become knowledgable enough about
guitar construction, woods, parts you name it, that I
can carry on an intelligent conversation with any guitar
head out there.

The author is a wonderful writer. He keeps it simple,
very informative, and he has a fun personality which
makes the reading fun. It sounds strange to say but
it's an exhiliarating read too because the information
is vast and very interesting.

Anyone planning to buy a guitar in any price range
should read this book first. Making a purchase will
be much easier for you. You'll know so much that
you won't get taken, and you'll know how to know
if you like a guitar or not.

If you want the skinny right now without any
blah-blah-blah or difficult to understand
technical terms, here's your book. It will
be something you'll look at for years to come.

As an "older-boomer-beginner" returning to guitars after a thirty-year absence, I read about this book in the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum ....

This is a very readable book for anyone thinking of purchasing a high quality acoustic guitar that wants to understand much more about what they are buying. This Second Edition contains just enough up-to-date technical and historical background to give you what you need to select a great new or used acoustic guitar. It clarified many things that I found confusing when I first started reading about model sizes, nomenclature, woods, strings, and everything else. I now feel like a very informed buyer, even though I'm not much of a player. I suppose there is a certain slant towards Martin guitars, but I think that is unavoidable given the history of the company.

Mr. Sandberg is correct in that no book full of adjectives will help you evaluate either sound or action. You need to go out and play as many guitars as you can. However, this book gives you a great start, and gives you a lot of good reasons to pass over a lot of what is on the lower end of the market today. Highly recommended.