Best taiji guide in English
"Chen Style: The Source of Taijiquan" does a really good job of explaining the history and basic principles of taiji, regardless of style. It's well written, well structured, and generally a good read. It is not, like so many books on the market, a learning manual where you learn forms by looking at pictures (which in my opinion is a bad way to learn taiji), but it gives the reader guidelines and pointers to complement your training, leaving the actual teaching to the instructors out there.

It may not be the most advanced manual on taiji, but it is definitely the best overall guide in English I've ever read. Especially for the beginner I think there is a whole lot of valuable information in here. For the advanced student there is maybe not that much new info, but there will probably be something of interest. It nonetheless serves as a good referencework or refresher for more advanced students.

There are better books out there in Chinese, but they are not that easily accesible to most people in the western hemisphere, so until they become, this is the book to read.

A book with pictures
With regards to some of the other comments: If you want a Chen-style Tai Chi book with lots of pictures of the form try "Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan" by Mark Chen.

A classic, well written, good primer. MUST READ!
I am a beginner who simply loves to read books about martial arts to learn different perspectives and approaches. This book has a lot of great qualities and it was well worth the time and money investment it took to read it.

For starters, the writing style of the book is fluid and clean. It's beautifully written, a true pleasure to read. The author attempts to give the reader a very good theoretical foundation in TaijiQuan. He provides great background information that draws novice readers into the culture and history of this art form.

I would have to disagree with regard to the sparcity of pictures in the book. Certainly, there is no substitute for a trainer or teacher. I can understand the perspective of reviewers that teach this form and believe that it is best for them to guide each student's progression. But it is unrealistic to think that all readers will have such a resource available to them wherever they may live. Actually, it's also irrelevant. Whether one is availed of expert instruction or not, clear pictures and diagrams showing the postures would help novices to reinforce and retain the information they read in this book. This is why people buy books to begin with!

In short, the content of the book seems to be good. The pictures are ok but there should have been more instructional photographs of the forms, poses and exercises. Overall, a very good introductory text.

Excellent intro to Chen's TaiJiQuan history and philosophy
Very few books are available to the public, which are written in English, about Chen style TCC. This is a very good reference book for both beginner and advanced practitioners of this or any style of TCC.
I teach an accredited course in Chen style at a local community college here in San Antonio,Tx. and this is the textbook I use for the course.
One of the main reasons I use it at the college is because it does not contain any how-to photos of the routine. Why is this? The reason is simply that photos and videos alone are not sufficient to learn the art. One needs an experienced guide to show one the way to proficiency in this art. That, and lots of hard work and sweat. There are no shortcuts!!!
As for those of you who long for a book with photos and explanations...my advice to you is,"Get yourself a Teacher". Finding one who is good enough to teach is difficult if you do not know what to look for or what to ask. And remember, just because they may know one form does not mean that they know the system. There is a difference! And do not think that you can attend classes for several months or one year and then go out and profess to "KNOW" TCC. It ain't gonna' happen! It is just like going to school, from Kindergarten all the way through college. Then, there's graduate school....get the picture?
The only conflict I have with the writing is about the 13 postures of TCC. Any experienced Chen teacher/practitioner will tell you that the so called 5 Steps are actually different from those given in the book. Also, it would have been nice to have listed the various "Jings"(energies) of TCC. Some Chen Masters/Grandmasters will tell you there are at least 21.
All in all, I can honestly say that this one's a keeper. And beginners, remember, once you find a good teacher, don't be in a hurry to learn. Remember, first you crawl, then you walk, then you can run.

what a joke
This book contains almost nothing specific to the Chen style. The Authors' understanding of Tai Ji Quan is about at the beginner level. No descriptions or photos of the Chen style forms are included, only a list of the postures. The photos are a real joke too... like photos of a family vacation. It is written well though, and it starts out good enough, but after a few chapters it is clear that the Authors don't know what they are talking about with regard to intermediate or advanced practice. Nothing new here. If you have studied any of the classic Tai Ji styles for more than a few months you probably know everything in this book. Some of the descriptions of advanced practice and weapons are really laughable. It is so obvious they don't know what they are talking about as they stumble all over themselves looking for some way to describe things that they have never actually practiced or learned. I was disappointed because I was hoping to learn about the specifics of the Chen style as promised in this book's promo. Sadly, the promo promises alot but the book delivers very little. There is a photo of a guy (not one of the authors) doing the "xia shi" form, however, it is mislabled as being the "shang bu qi xing" form. This makes me wonder if the authors have ever even learned all the Tai Ji forms or if maybe they just visited China for a few weeks here and there to "study" Tai Ji like as a hobby or something. This book totally lacks any exclusive insight or original information regarding Tai Ji and nearly every other paragraph contains a quote from the Tai Ji Classics or some other already published work. Very disappointing. But the Authors are good writers and as far as basic Tai Ji goes, they did a decent job of explaining the fundamentals, so I gave it 2 stars.