Ultimate Guide Can Boost Tool Ability

By Jennifer Sergent
Scripps Howard News Service

The Homeowner's Ultimate Tool Guide, by Sandor Nagyszalanczy (Taunton Press, $19.95).

I can't go into Home Depot without my eyes glazing over. So many tools and gadgets, so little help or advice. I'm much more likely to just call a handyman. But I already feel more confident in my abilities after reading The Homeowner's Ultimate Tool Guide.

The pages are filled with photographs of hundreds of tools, along with text explaining what they are for and how they are used. The front section suggests lists of tools for every kind of toolbox, from basic home maintenance to plumbing to mechanical to electrical to car repair.

You don't even have to know what a tool is called to find information about it. The chapters are labeled by function, such as "Tools that Saw," "Tools that Pound and Pry" and "Tools that Fasten and Glue."

This book is item No. 1 for anyone's toolbox. Buy this before you buy any tools. As the author points out, it gives "you all the information you need to 'walk the walk' and 'talk the talk.' "