What do you think about the Monks?

I wouldn't recommend it. Their training methods are based on faulty understanding of wolf behavior

and can easily cause fear and aggression in dogs. You can put Cesar Milan into that same category.

The original author of the Monks of New Sketes training books said if he

could remove the chapters recommending alpha rolls, neck scruff shakes,

etc., he would as it has resulted in many people being hurt and bitten by

dogs when using these aggressive methods.

Of course when that happens the dog is labeled as aggressive and suffers the consequences.

I have both The Art of Raising a Puppy and How to be Your Dog's best Friend. I think they are both good books. However the world of dog training is moving on. I haven't read as many new books as I should have. I have posted this list here a number of times:

Dog Problems, by Carol Lea Benjamin, 1989

Super Puppy, by Peter J. Vollmer, 1988

HELP, Mt dog Has an Attitude, by Gwen Bohnenkamp, 1994

Owners' Guide Better Behavior in Dogs and Cats, by William Campbell, 1989

What All Good dogs Should Know, By Wendy Vollmer, 1991

How to Raise a Dog When Nobody is Home, Jerry Kilmer, 1991

Puppy Primer, by Brenda K Skidmore and Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D., 1996

Beginning Family Dog Training, by Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D., 1996

I find Jean Donaldson's Pyscho babble too much to wade through.

Personally, I love it. I'm not a new dog owner, I've had dogs all my life, but I used it to help train two of my dogs and a few of my friends'/family's doggies. It's very informational and useful.