Browsing the camping section of a local bookstore I came across The Complete Walker IV. This fourth edition of Colin Fletcher's classic work was co-written with Chip Rawlins, who was brought on board due to his more current knowledge of equipment.
The sheer size of this book, 845 pages if you include the index, initially was a detractor; however, once delving into its pages and realizing that it is written in a truly engaging and humorous style, the voluminous nature became a plus!
Anyway, these guys' love of the outdoors is infectious and their anecdotes very entertaining. Has me wishin' I could do my third Guadalupe Mountains trip sooner than my planned dates in early June!
As the book was published in 2002, some of the equipment reviews are already obsolete; however, still worth reading just for the humorous stories that are included, but also the principles of equipment selection are good. Ultimately, as they repeatedly point out, equipment reviews are what they are and the hiker must find what works for him/her and fits into his/her style of hiking and the nature of the specific hikes being undertaken.
Bottomline, on a 5 star scale, I'd give this one an unwavering 5 stars.
Afterall, you can always find current equipment reviews online.
JohnK