A Good Guide, but no Bible
A lot of yoga books claim to be definitive guides, but there are so many varieties of yoga that I suspect it would take a multi-volume encyclopedia to illustrate them all. Meanwhile, The Yoga Bible does a good job, if not of Biblical proportions, in illustrating many asanas in common use in this country. It has brief, clear descriptions of the poses, often broken up in levels of difficulty, and equally clear photo illustrations. I especially like the brief sidebars for the asanas that list warm-up poses and counter poses. But the book is a summary for quick reference rather than a primary guide to establishing a practice. I have several books -- Rodney Yee's superlative Moving Toward Balance, for example -- that offer better overall programs. To be fair, The Yoga Bible doesn't claim to compete on that level. It can stand on its own as a valued secondary reference.