McCracken's Removable Partial Prosthodontics [Hardcover]

Ok since I have real strong feelings regarding this book, I will start by stating my opinions first, and then the facts about this book; stuff that people can't argue about.
Where do I even start?
First of all, in my opinion, the text is just ok, but not uniformly so; some parts are more interesting then others. The technical parts of the book are especially dry, and it really feels like a collection of facts you must know; that's technical text, I guess, and maybe there is not much you can do about it. But it is not a pleasure to read; it's easy to space out during those segments.
Now, I am not a fan of this new streamlined approach: of cutting down a textbook's volume to make it "more readable\accessible"; I find that this approach really limits this book's scope and authority. I was, for example, very disappointed to find so LITTLE about interim removable partial dentures in this book (5 pages!); even the authors indicate using it in certain situations, but you get no information about producing or designing one; all you get is a description; why? Where am I supposed to get this information from?
I was also very disappointed by the lack of coverage on the subject of internal attachments; Not only they review just one system (out of several available out there), but what you do find is lacking, and not applicable. I understand that Clasp-retained partial dentures are more popular then Internal attachment\precision attachment (at least in the US... I think it's the other way around in Europe), but that doesn't give the authors the right to basically ignore other methods, especially if you claim to be "the definitive textbook on the subject"; It makes me mad, because I might want to offer my patients this kind of service, and I can't learn enough about it from this "definitive" book.
Now to the facts:
This new edition of McCraken (12th) is SO proud of itself for having a full color design, and although I enjoy the illustrations, a lot of the photographs Have terrible purple color fringing (basically a purple color in photos where there shouldn't be any; this optic phenomenon can be corrected in photoshop, as I understand, but they didn't do that). Some illustrations have defective labeling (like in most textbooks, really).
This book is also proud of it's covarage of implants and their use with removable partial denture (they consider it to be an "Outstanding feature"), but the coverage of this topic is an ABSOLUTE JOKE. The brand new chapter regarding implants (chapter 25: "Considerations for the use of dental implants with removable partial denture") is 8 (8!) pages long, half of those pages just have photos! Additional information about implants as a rest and as direct retainers has 2(!) short paragraphs(!) and 3 really short paragraphs regarding implant considerations in design! This is a slap to the face, or an insult at best, making you pay premium price for the "latest information" when all you get is a few words.
Now; I got this book because it is considered to be "the classic" on the subject. It's required reading in a lot of dental schools, educators recommend it, and it's required reading for both the Israeli boards exam, as well as for the NBDE part 2. If you know this to be true, and you KNOW people are going to buy it, why not do something special?? I had this complaint about Okeson's Occlusion as well. Why can't you have some additional internet material via "student consult" or "Evolve"?? Or maybe a DVD! Think of the possibilities; a virtual Tour through the production of a removable partial denture, maybe a simulation of treatment planning to evaluate students' grasp of the subject (where you get a clinical situation and you need to place the different components at their right places, or maybe recommend pre-prosthetic treatments) or even just a simulator of partially edentulous arches' classification, where you get an edentulous arch, and you need to identify the arch configuration (like you find on chapter 3); something!
No! Nothing like that in this 2010 book. Just another Textbook, and a reduced one at that; since the last edition, this current edition lost 80 pages (which is almost 20%!); do we know less about removable partial prosthodotics now then we used to 5 years ago? The quality of the hardcover seems to be out of place for such a slim book.
Now, some of you might say "well but I want a streamlined, student's textbook; I want to have just the essential information! I hate reading to much and carry a big book with me"; fair enough. So why must you pay 70 for it?! For what you get, it seems TERRIBLY overpriced! Make it paperback, make it black and white again (if you can't have proper color pictures) and make if finacially accessible, or make it expensive, but shoot for the stars and make something special.
Going through this book, I feel kind of bad giving Hupp's Contemporary Oral and Maxillofacial surgery just 3 stars; I should have given it a higher rating.
So to summarize; If you want to get the basic information (They should really change the name of this book to "fundamentals\principles\essentials of removable partial prosthodontics") you can get this book, but with all of these flaws, I can't recommend anyone to pay this much money for this book; Look for something better (suggestions, anyone?)

At first I was hesitant in purchasing this book because I was worried it would not justify the price tag as I am a poor dental student. However I was persuaded by a book seller on this book's popularity and I must say I love this book. It covers the basics of partial removable prosthodontics very well with chapters on the components of partial removable dentures (direct and indirect retainers etc.), treatment planning and clinical considerations and the laboratory steps which were greek to me before purchasing this book. I would recommend it highly for professional GDPs who are feeling a bit rusty and for students who don't even know what Prosthodontics means!!