I would like to start doing some self study to prepare for my PPL later this year. I've read about the Gleim books and Jeppesen, but I'm not sure what book I need.
Hey Customx!
I've been "into" aviation and aerospace since I was eight years old, but eventually life pulled me in directions that took me away from flying. I'm 41 and finally get back into the saddle again.
Many years ago, I bought some Gleim Test Prep stuff from a pilot shop on the Palo Alto Airport, California [if I remember correctly]. Back then, it was straight forward and easy to understand. Today, I have King Schools, Jeppesen and Sporty's DVD's for the Private and Instrument.
Thus far, I would say that Jeppesen takes the more 'scholarly' approach to teaching. A no frills approach. However, I find that some of their material is old and dry. The King material is fine, if you like being talked to as if you were 5 years old. Now, sometimes that could be a good thing, depending on the complexity of the subject matter - just be prepared for alot of lean humor. I really want to love the Sporty's material, but I can't. While their presentation is by far the best of the three [very nice quality], they blast through the material so fast with such "matter-of-fact" brio, that I often times have to keep hitting the rewind button. Sporty's is very detailed and I like detail, but they really do need to work on their strategy for knowledge transfer and information delivery. Often times with Sporty's, I'm left wondering about the big picture.
So, for me, I find that Jeppesen does the job the best. You get detail, fairly good presentation, not a lot of personality and you also get the 30,000 ft view of what's being delivered before you hit the detail level. My only request of Jeppensen, is that they PLEASE update their material.
On a completely different note - if you are starting out for the first time, you might want to take a look at these books:
The Complete Guide to Flight Instruction, by Gregory M. Penglis.
The Proficient Pilot - Volume I, by Barry Schiff
Beyond The Checkride, by Howard Fried
Stick and Rudder, by Wolfgang Langewiesche
Gregory, goes inside the universe of flight instructors and flight instruction and taps the core of what a student needs to understand in order to maximize their time and money. He seems to really hit the basics behind the instructor/student dynamic that leads to optimal learning opportunities.
Barry, has flown more aircraft than I have had girl friends and that's saying a lot! He cuts to the chase in a New York minute on the "need to know" details of how to optimize the performance of your aircraft. It is like reading the mind of an Aeronautical Jedi Master. You can tell that he really knows his stuff and he really knows how to squeeze the most performance he can out of his bird.
Howard, takes you literally beyond the first few moments after the checkride. I've not been there yet, but reading Howard sure does make me feel like I've already been there. He seems to get down to the real world realities of everyday flying and his book has given me some insight into how I will go about my 1,500 hour journey to jet pilot.
Wolfgang. Stick & Rudder. nuf said.
Do yourself a favor and check out these four books as fast as you can and as early in your flight training as you can. You will learn a lot and maybe even impress [though slightly] your Instructor! 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1568250126/sbsoftware
