Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting- A book review.

I have to confess that I have had this book in my library for quite some time and there it sat unread.  A glimpse inside made me wish I had read it sooner.  This is a book for beginning fair isle knitters as well as advanced.
Starmore begins the book with a fascinating brief history of Shetland and the Fair Isle. She guides you through the daily lives of the people, the trade industry and the war history. 
She gives historical examples of pieces that were knit in the area and the why of what was knit.
Starmore's book also guides you through a pictoral presentation of the fair isle technique, the history of the "symbols" and how to create your own color pattern. 
The book includes a stitchionary of peeries, borders, Large Fair Isle patterns, allover patterns, Norwegian star patterns, and seeding patterns. And if you don't want to design your own pieces the book also contains patterns for sweaters, hats, and mittens for men, women, and children using the fair isle technique.