Queen's Gambit Declined: Bg5 Systems

I doubt the other reviewer's evaluationI have not read this book but I'm a hardcore 1.d4 practitioner that faces the QGD everyday. I was compelled to write a commentary because the other reviewer complained about there being three annotated games with the "ridiculous 8.Rb1." There is nothing ridiculous about this move that I play very often for the purpose of beginning the minority attack, an important plan that is a major component of the white side of the QGD. The book may give the impression that some of the lines are drawish and this makes sense since it is a very old opening and has been played at the championship level since the beginning. The book got rated 7.5 out of 10 by Randy Bauer, a respected chess book aficionado whose reviews can be found at chessopolis.com (under "Randy's Revealing Reviews)." He says that the book would be more helpful to someone who is already an experienced practitioner of most of the lines - "The breakdown on key plans for both sides is mostly limited to quick listing of lines, and many players just learning a variation need more." Perhaps that's why the reader from Oakland disliked it. I should add that Bauer gave Mathew Sadler's book on the QGD an 8, and this is a book that won a chess book of the year award. So to get a 7.5 from Randy is definitely an achievement! I myself rated this book with 4 stars based on Randy's system since I myself did not read the book. I would have avoided the rating system, but the site would not allow me to post without including it.If the QGD is a new opening for you, I suggest Gambit's "The Road to Chess Improvement," by Alex Yermolinski. In just one chapter, he thoroughly explains in plain English the four major plans (including the minority attack) for white in the exchange variation (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 - there are of course many other transpositions). The book in general is a great read for any d4 player. It also was the runner-up for the chess book of the year award that was given to Mathew Sadler's book.