...and you're a handy-kinda-person, I'd suggest his smaller one, Marijuana grow basics, the "easy guide for cannabis aficionados"... I love his 'bible', but the thinner book is way more practical for the first-timer, including mesef.

{"760 Color Images!" "150+ Grow Rooms!"}

I think it cost me 30 bux locally, with the MH Bible being around 45-50. US list price, as printed on the back, is $21.95. I am reminded of the comparison between the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the Encyclopædia Galactica... "First, it is slightly cheaper..."

The nice thing about the smaller volume is that it is actually a wee bit more up-to-date, and that it is loaded with P0pul4r-M3ch4nix-style illustration-photographs that do a great job of communicating the concepts involved (with a good dose of humor--see the section on 'security'). Plus, the book has many design ideas about how to structure a grow room, from micro and closet-sized grows, to larger gardening projects.

ISBN-13: 978-1-878823-37-3, if anyone's interested