jeppesen private pilot manual in 1997 is ok?

[pilot1611]

is it updated much?
do u guys recommend latest one?

[Dave Gittins]

Like pretty much everything in aviation, you need to have the most up to date and (apart from the aeroplane) not something that is 15 years old.

[BackPacker]

Your profile shows you in Korea. I don't know whether Korea has its own syllabus or whether it tags along with whatever the FAA comes up with, but in general you will want to have books that are written specific for the exams you want to take.

The main issue is Air Law, which is different from country to country (even within JAA-land). But you will also find differences in operating procedures (circuit joins for instance), R/T, airspace, navigation and even the motor skills/flying exercises requirements (turns around a point for instance).

Principles of Flight and Aircraft Technical are subjects that are pretty universal, but even Meteorology has a few local twists (such as acquisition and dissemination of weather information, e.g. 1-800-WXBRIEF vs. the Metoffice Metforms).

And if you cannot afford an up to date set of books that are compatible with your local exams, you definitely cannot afford the flying training, exams and subsequent upkeep of your license.

Having said that, the first book I bought was Rod Machado's Private Flying Handbook, and I loved it. It was the main reason that I thought "I can do this" and decided to learn to fly. I then bought the up to date UK CAA books (Jeremy Pratt series in my case) and used those to study for the exams.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Best ask your flying school, they'll know what they prefer and what exams you need to pass.

G

[Gertrude the Wombat]

I did my IMCR with a 15 year old book - the instructor said "the instruments haven't changed, if you buy the new edition all that's different is that some of the pictures are in colour".

Air Law is another matter of course.