The subhead reads “Learn how to build an engine exactly like the pros”, but I would suggest that this is less of a step-by-step guide and more a thorough explanation of the principles and processes.
By the end, unless you are already an engineer, I doubt that you will be any more able to build a motor, but you will have greater appreciation of your motor, your engineer, and will be more accepting of the labour bill.
Written by petrol-head extraordinaire and former editor of American Iron magazine,
Chris Maida – ably assisted by Reg and Reg of R&R – he describes it himself as ‘how to bake a cake, not what ingredient to put in it’. And aided by clearly captioned, high quality photographs reproduced beautifully on decent paper you get a list of ingredients at the beginning of each chapter – in the form of special tools and consumables – and precise measurements throughout.
And it’s not just the ‘how’ but the ‘why’, and if you don’t have a good understanding of how and engine works, but want to be able to speak with authority about Timkin bearings and torque procedures, this will be an education, because the real strength of this book is its accessibility.
Maida is a natural writer and manages to get across complicated engineering in simple terms, and in remarkably few pages. It is written in a prose style rather than manual-speak, which makes it easier to read than to quickly refer to, but that can make things easier to understand.
With the easy to follow text accompanied by the comprehensive photographs, you don’t need to read it in the workshop with the book in one hand and a 
spanner in the other: you make your own notes, specific to the job you’re doing, and will have a clear idea what you can expect to find.
Other than the improvements derived from putting the engine together properly, with everything calibrated, measured and within tolerance, the hop-up element is dealt with in the final chapter.
Divided into a further eleven sections, this is as concise an explanation of tuning theory as I have come across, cutting straight to the chase, but again assumes a level of engineering competence of anyone who is going to get the most out of it. For the rest of us mortals, it is enough to get a better grasp of the principles.
An excellent book and a surprisingly good read for something so technical … unless you happen to be the owner of a 1989-’93 Evo with the original engine, and are of a nervous disposition, in which case it is essential reading, but buy a set of cases first.