The last update to this book was the addition of color photographs in 1997. Prior to that the last update was in 1970. True, many growers possess this guide that was once know as the bible of marijuana cultivation. However, I would not base horticultural practices on information that is more than 50 years old -- especially when there is more current science available. Especially regarding plant nutrition and curing.
If you like a good read, enjoy -- it is well written. But if one is digesting this for horticultural edification, recommend one look elsewhere.
Marijuana Grower's Guide Deluxe: Revised Color Edition by Mel Frank (Red Eye Press Inc. 1997) (635.0+/-). Originally published in 1978, this was one of if not the first thorough and accurate how-to manual on the cultivation of cannabis. Before this book came out, serious smokers spoke with disdain about the quality of the “homegrown” weed that we American tokers produced by scattering the “bag seed” that was the detritus from the commercial Columbian or Mexican weed of the day. This is the book that introduced us to the concept of sinsemilla and gave growers the ability to maximize (within the limits of the genetic capabilities of the plant) the resin production and therefore the potency of the plant, and the rest is blissful history! Most hippie farmers of the day had this manual memorized. It is now dated, though; this book predates the development of feminized seeds and autoflowering seeds, both of which are in the mainstream and are the future of cannabis cultivation. Mel Frank's book is one of the few marijuana cultivation guides that provides plenty of advice specifically for outdoor grows (as opposed to indoors or greenhouse cultivation). My rating: 7/10, finished 4/20/81.