Ultimately, this book is not bad, per se, but there are many flaws. First, a fair amount of the information is rather out-dated. Due to developments and changes to the art of puppetry, epsecially in the past 10-20 years, many of the "norms" of puppet theatre that Latshaw describes are no longer true, or at least not the norms. Additionally, many of the comparisons or refernces to live actor theatre are generic and in some cases, mis-informed. Though there is a great deal of information, most of it tends to be basic and not particularly useful. If you are looking for your first book on puppetry, with no previous experience or knowledge in the art, and don't want to spend much money, this could be a decent book for you, though I would recomend one of Currell's (Puppets and Puppet Theatre, Introduction to Puppets and Puppet Making).