I have about 10 books on wood finishing, some dating back to the 1950s and this is by far my favorite.   I first got it when finishing was a mystery that I didn't really understand.   I found one thing that worked and used it on most everything.  It really changed my knowledge of finishing and took me from the one trick pony to a wood finishing professional.

There is now a second, revised, version (2020) and he's said to be working on a third version.  Bob Flexner has also written many articles in various magazines that expound on these topics.

 

One major sideline is his "myth-busting" -- he talks about widely held beliefs and why they are false.   He also helps decode a lot of the mis-leading names of products that are not what the name would indicate they are.

I couldn't agree more. I read it pretty much like a novel, it was that easy to follow...and to me very interesting. I have his as well as Jewitt's book, and while they are much in agreement on everything Flexner's book is easier to follow along. I use Jeff's book more like a reference, when I need to look up something. I'll have to look for the updated version...I'm especially interested to see anything  he's added about waterborne finishes.