It doesn't teach you how to do stuff like other books, nor does it entertain you with one pleasant andecdote after another. It's not necessarily a pretty book. It's probably not going to get dog-eared from use. That's not to say it is an unpleasant book to read, but has to be a bit of engineer in you to really appreciate it. By that I don't mean you are required to have college degree in mechanical engineering, but rather a deep curiosity about how things work.
Engineers are nothing but problem solvers, attempting to put theories and ideas to practical use.
Those of us who came onto the scene after the development of graphite fly rods will appreciate the insights Don has on the early development of these rods. What was particularly interesting to me was the fact that while graphite rods are certainly the most common in today's market, that is not necessarily because graphite is the best material. If we are to believe Don, and there certainly is no reason not to, graphite is so widely used today because it is relatively cheap and easy to use compared with, in his view, the technically superior material boron. In fact, the processes to construct graphite rod blanks is very similar to the processes used to produce fiberglass rod blanks, so it was easy and cheap for companies to phase out glass in favor of graphite. As Don states, it is not always superior technology that drives the market.