The Complete
Book of Home
Inspection (2nd
edition), by
Norman Becker
(TAB Books, 1993;
800/822-8138).
Softcover, 71/2x9,
263 pages. $12.95.
Most home inspection titles I've
reviewed all say pretty much the
same thing in slightly different ways.
The Complete Book of Home Inspection
is no exception, but it does have
unique qualities.
Author Norman Becker recommends
a systematic approach to exterior,
interior, and electromechanical
inspection, and leads the reader
through each topic in detail,
including paving and landscaping,
insects and rot, and all types of
heating. Each chapter includes a
description of the inspection procedure
under consideration, and a
checklist. But what gives Becker's
book "personality" is the broad background
information with which he
opens each chapter. Becker goes into
much greater detail than other
authors, often spelling out the