The issue is not so much about Reviews vs. Directed Questions, I think it's more of what really constitutes a Review. In your Reviews, you have focused almost entirely on the construction and how you believe that standard building practices lead to unsafe boats. (And I challenge you to find one published incident wherein the failure or partial failure of a wood kayak caused an emergency situation.)

The kayak books in question are not limited to the subject of engineering materials and construction for durability. They are also about introducing people to a new art form, presenting design ideas, and in general describing the process by which kayaks are constructed. Your reviews have fallen far short in these areas. You are definitely entitled to your opinion of the materials and construction methods outlined, but there is much more to our diversion than that. If your reviews were compared to movie reveiws, there would be no discussion of the plot, character development, quality of acting, etc. Your movie review would be limited to a critique of how poor the special effects were.

Dean

: Nick and many of you seem to be confused as to the difference between a Book
: Review and a question about what a person finds personally (un)suitable
: about a book.

: In a Review the reviewer gives an opinion as to the (un)suitability of the
: book for OTHERS. That opinion is subject to examination by ANYONE. A
: review should be confined/extended to the content of the book not the
: author's intent.

: In a response to a Directed Question the questioned gives a statement as how
: the book was (un)suitable to HIMSELF. That statement is subject to
: examination by NO ONE. You may have given a different answer to the
: question if it was posed to you, but it was not.

: Somewhere below I was asked a Directed Question about a Review.