Rules for My Unborn Son contains a selection of posts from Walker Lamond's website of the (almost) same name, presented beautifully in hardback with numerous photographs and illustrations.
The concept behind Lamond's website is both inspired and inspiring, a collection of dicta ranging from the practical to the moral to the philosophical, complemented by carefully selected photographs and musical pieces that illustrate his points perfectly. The rest of the Internet could disappear tomorrow and all would be well provided Lamond continues with his postings.
His book, however, seems to lack a certain something that makes the website such compulsive reading, at least for a fan who has already pored over the archives multiple times. The problem, I think, stems from the unavoidable limitations imposed by the publishing process in capturing the essence of the site; where the site flows so perfectly with photograph leading to caption leading to song leading to the next nugget of wisdom the book seems a little disjointed, rather less rich and engaging. The book is still great, just not perfect.
Despite these unfortunate deficiencies, Rules for My Unborn Son would make a perfect gift for anyone with eyes and the ability to read English, and it would be an ideal introduction to the greater treasures contained within the site itself. I've already bought two copies, and as holidays and birthdays roll around once again I'll continue to buy this book for everyone I know and love until my friends and family stage an intervention.
