Believe it or not, a lot of people are interested in estimating. The best book for beginners is: Construction Estimating Reference Data, by Ed Sarviel. It is priced at about $20.00 and is published by Craftsman Book Company, 6058 Corte Del Cedro, Box 6500, Carlsbad, CA 92008. The 366-page book's chapters are broken down by Construction Standards Institute (CSI) codes.