Rating: 
Summary: Good and bad
Review: I purchased this book as a reference for knots, particularly household knots and climbing knots. It fulfills this need and quite a bit more. There are color illustrations that walk you through each knot step by step, a well put together index, and an introduction that discusses the history of knots as well as material types.In addition to being an excellent source of knot information, it is also a wonderful "coffee table book". For the $32.50 list price, they have put together an extremely well made book. The color photos, the binding, and the paper quality are great. When I leave this book out, my guests constantly pick it up and start asking questions. What a great conversation piece. Buy this book, you won't be disappointed!
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely worth the price!
Review: I purchased this book as a reference for knots, particularly household knots and climbing knots. It fulfills this need and quite a bit more. There are color illustrations that walk you through each knot step by step, a well put together index, and an introduction that discusses the history of knots as well as material types. In addition to being an excellent source of knot information, it is also a wonderful "coffee table book". For the $32.50 list price, they have put together an extremely well made book. The color photos, the binding, and the paper quality are great. When I leave this book out, my guests constantly pick it up and start asking questions. What a great conversation piece. Buy this book, you won't be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Ultimate? -- No / Good? -- Yes
Review: I'm new at the fascinating skill of knotting. The only other knotting book I've read is Day's Art of Knotting & Splicing. That book and this one complement each other very well, the former written from a seafarer's perspective, reads like a manual for a sailor. The latter has the advantages of a modern book, colored photos of knots, and descriptions of recently-invented knots. It is my best guess that the title of this book was chosen by the publisher as a marketing ploy, -- not by the author. An "Ultimate Encyclopedia" of knots would have to be many volumes to cover all known knots from all the known cultures, all their history, and all the modern mathematical analysis. (Somebody should publish such a book!) Though not "Ultimate", I do like this book, especially for the new knots that the Day and Ashley books do not cover.
Rating:
Summary: Ultimate? -- No / Good? -- Yes
Review: I'm new at the fascinating skill of knotting. The only other knotting book I've read is Day's Art of Knotting & Splicing. That book and this one complement each other very well, the former written from a seafarer's perspective, reads like a manual for a sailor. The latter has the advantages of a modern book, colored photos of knots, and descriptions of recently-invented knots. It is my best guess that the title of this book was chosen by the publisher as a marketing ploy, -- not by the author. An "Ultimate Encyclopedia" of knots would have to be many volumes to cover all known knots from all the known cultures, all their history, and all the modern mathematical analysis. (Somebody should publish such a book!) Though not "Ultimate", I do like this book, especially for the new knots that the Day and Ashley books do not cover.
Rating:
Summary: Best knot book I've seen
Review: I've look at a half dozen other knot books over the years, and this is the best one I've seen. Very clear photos of the tying procedures, along with the use of differently colored ropes when more than two ropes are being used, and nice, glossy paper so the photos look great, make this a very visually appealing knot book to just browse, or to seriously learn from. Also the author includes some interesting history when that is known. For example, the prusik knot, now used in mountain climbing, was originally invented by a Dr. Prusik, an Austrian music professor, before World War I for tying broken musical strings together. The book covers 200 different knots. There are knots for every practical need, as well as mainly aesthetic ones such as the "lucky knot" or four-leaf clover knot, which could be used for a keychain bob. For a knot enthusiast, Budworth has an interesting bio. He's appeared on TV and radio, was president of the International Knot Guild, which he founded, and is a consultant on forensic matters relating to knots in Great Britain. Overall, an attractive and well done book on an obscure but interesting craft and specialty.
Rating:
Summary: Good and bad
Review: If it weren't for the good selection of alternative knots and bends that you'd ordinarily need several books to find, I would only give this book one or two stars. He often neglects to state the limitations and general properties of the knot at hand. Also, the photographs are poor instuction with the hands of the tier getting in the way, and the ends of the rope left out of the picture. The author should have stuck with drawings using neat and clean arrows to instruct. Some of the instructions teach the hard way to tie several of the knots. Also, the author seems to be preoccupied with bulky and unnecessarily complex knots that are impractical. Perhaps the author is pandering to a certain breed of mountaineer who doesn't feel safe with their knot-tying unless they use half of the coil of rope in their knot. If you are a reader, I suggest you test each knot with both slippery and regular, wet and dry, and small and large line. Jerk them, and wiggle them, and make sure they're safe and won't jam. The author leaves you unaware.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of up-to-date knots
Review: It includes lots of up-to-date knots. You can find the knots you want in a easy way. Also, the knots are categorized by the uses of them by which you can find the common usage of those knots. Easy to use.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding compendium of knots
Review: Once I had opened this book I was unable to put it down. The illustrations are among the best I have ever seen on this subject, being clear, with correct lighting and delightful colours. The ordered pictures allow one to construct the knots mostly correct first time. In just one or two cases I felt that the final picture was missing (e.g. the Lighterman's Hitch). It was interesting to find that since I read the Ashley Book of Knots some thirty-five years ago, new knots have been invented, which Geoffrey Budworth includes in his book, e.g.the Albright Special Bend, the Cow Hitch Variant, Clinging Clara, the Icicle Hitch (a truly amazing knot) and others. The only criticism I can make is that the background information is, for an Encyclopaedia, rather limited. I shall certainly explore the other works of this acomplished author.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding compendium of knots
Review: Once I had opened this book I was unable to put it down. The illustrations are among the best I have ever seen on this subject, being clear, with correct lighting and delightful colours. The ordered pictures allow one to construct the knots mostly correct first time. In just one or two cases I felt that the final picture was missing (e.g. the Lighterman's Hitch). It was interesting to find that since I read the Ashley Book of Knots some thirty-five years ago, new knots have been invented, which Geoffrey Budworth includes in his book, e.g.the Albright Special Bend, the Cow Hitch Variant, Clinging Clara, the Icicle Hitch (a truly amazing knot) and others. The only criticism I can make is that the background information is, for an Encyclopaedia, rather limited. I shall certainly explore the other works of this acomplished author.
Rating:
Summary: informative resource on knots, excellent photographs
Review: This book contains a very useful collection of knots and ropework. While it doesn't have nearly the amount of knots covered in the Ashley Encyclopedia the 200 presented in this book are practical and up to date. The color photos are excellent and very easy to follow. Geoffrey Budworth also covers rope care, types of rope and some history. The book is a large sized hardcover which makes it easy to have open and lying flat while following the instructions. If you're interested in knot tying you can't go wrong with this book.
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