I think it would have been a tall order for Henri to write down the information you would need to reach his level of photography. There are some exceptional documentaries on YouTube for free that you could take advantage of by watching to get some insight from him in his own spoken words and examples. This short read is his collection of writings that brings to a point photography of the day as it was for him. When he mocks the idea of the golden rule being etched onto a lens I sort of grin at the thought of grid lines appearing in modern DSLR cameras to guide in the use of rule of thirds. All this being said - in written words Henri conveys what he's thinking in some of the more general senses of his time with photography where the camera is his sketchbook and where you can try to find another 1000 words in the photos themselves ;) Color photography has come a long long way in the digital world so at a first read you might wonder why he avoided the use of it and made a point to write about it. Therefore, you have to read his writings with the respect he is due for his total mastery of photography. Make no mistake - he was a master. He didn't take the time back then to write about the formula it takes for him and how you can use this formula to get the same results with any camera. He gives you something more intimate in fact - his raw emotions of the world he lived in and how the camera reached out into the world as an extension of himself. Each person has his or her own art inside them and if you understand and appreciate the very fundamentals of photography then you have taken one more step in trying to reach your goals of an artist perhaps. If you read this book with these things in mind you will take something away from it :)