Wel...
Again, being a relative beginner, what Ive noticed is that there appears to be two completely different schools of thought regarding blackjack. It's the equivelant of science vs religion. (Note: I do not want a religious discussion here, no offense to anybody, just making a comparison).
When making the decision between the two sides (for those that actually have to make the decision, it wasnt much of one for me), I would just look toward the following analogy: You are in a car speeding toward a ramp that will take you over a large ditch if you hit it just right. (Dukes of Hazzard anybody?) Would you rather have a physicist in the passenger seat saying "You need to hit that ramp at 92MPH" or the local nut who claims to be god saying "do not worry my son, we will make it just fine"? That, in essence, is the main difference. As for the authors, some of them are con artists who pretend to be god, others are nuts that actually think they are:)
D