I bought my copy from Buteo Books in the U.S. No damage on my copy.
I find the diffuse drop shadow on the birds to be a bit odd, certainly something I've never seen before in a guide. But I am not sure I find it to detract from the guide. Overall, I find the plates to be quite pleasing although not to the level of my favorite bird artists out there (Worfolk, Lewington, Wilczur, etc).
I love the distribution maps with color-coding for subspecies. I do not like, however, the numeration for each species being far below the bird's name. I think the numbers should be right next to the species names. If you look at the layout, the name is in the OPPOSITE corner of each species entry as the number. Awkward. Better yet, just type the name on each plate with each species. I also do not really like the species' names printed in German and French. I'd rather have those names printed in Spanish if anything, as that is the local tongue. The lines for notes, be it one line for some species or five lines for others, is not to my liking as well. I suppose here some field marks could be mentioned instead and I think that would be more valuable. Sure, with that limited space it wouldn't be the most detailed description, but in many cases a limited description might be a huge help! e.g.- from 5 by white-tipped tail, reddish crissum, and red instead of orange iris. You get my jist!
I also wonder if the layout on the text pages could be improved. Not sure the rows and columns design facilitates finding info as quickly as possible. Truthfully though, the book is little more than plates, names and maps, to be honest. I would have rather seen a larger version of the guide with more information available. But as is this would make a great backpack guide for the field. Since identification information for each species is completely lacking, perhaps adding Peterson-style arrows pointing at some key field marks for each species might be a worthy addition. Most people would probably figure out what the arrows were pointing to, but sometimes key marks can be overlooked without having them brought to one's attention.
Overall, I like this book for its maps and illustrations, and I am not sorry I purchased it