I recently bought three books, all about G.I.*JOE to use as references.

First is the new G.I.*JOE Field Manual by Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster

Hmmm...where to begin? OK, I'll start by saying this book was like Rise of Cobra. Going in with an expectation, not getting that, but at the same time, not being truly disappointed either. Most of us went in to see Rise of Cobra hoping to see a live action version of the comic and/or cartoon we grew up with. We didn't get that, but we still got a pretty decent movie (that would have been much better and well received if it wasn't G.I.*JOE, but just a generic summer action blockbuster).
That being said, this book is about the Sunbow cartoon. What I thought I might be getting would be a book with great pictures and stills from the series, interviews with the likes of Buzz Dixon and Michael Bell and their experience with making the show. I'd thought I get design ideas for things like Cobra's many temples and other characters and vehicles not featured in the comics or toys. I was hoping to get some insight to where the writers drew their inspiration for story lines and all those over the top world domination plans Cobra Commander came up with.
What we get is a book that highlights each of the characters from the first three mini-series and the first season of the show. Most characters get a page, some get two some get half. What each entry show cases is the character model. If your not familiar with animation, a character model is a drawing of the character as how they are to appear on screen, it's the final drawing of the figure. They are drawn from different angles so the animators know how to draw them. Each character entry has a couple of drawings of each is different positions, some have head shots to show emotion like fear, laughing and anger.
The vehicles are also featured in the book, like their human counterparts, some are shown from various angles.
There are also character models for non-figure/non-comic characters like Satin, Dr. Vandermeer and Honda Lu West, as well as main characters in different clothing, like Cover Girl, Lady Jaye and Scarlett dressed as Cold Slither's groupies and the Noks themselves as Cold Slither.
There is almost no text with in the book other than the intro. Each character features a small blurb of text taken from their file cards, but that's about it.
I am a bit disappointed with the book simply because it was not what I was expecting/hoping it would be, but it is still a very neat guide to the characters and vehicles from the Sunbow era. The drawings are great and it will make a good reference book, but over all, it's not one I would consider to be essential to my G.I.*JOE book collection.

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Next we have G.I.*JOE vs. Cobra: The Essential Guide by Pablo Hidalgo

When I was a huge(er) Star Wars geek about ten, twelve years ago, I loved the "Essential Guide to Charaters/vehicles/weapons/planets/species/etc..." and really would have loved one for G.I.*JOE. Little did I know this book existed. This book is a great reference for learning that backgrounds of many of the main characters and a few of the vehicles.
Starting out with the Joes, each of the primary characters get two or three pages dedicated to telling their story. Each character entry starts out with a summery of their file cards along with the peer reviews and a picture of the character, usually from their card art, but occasionally from a comic book. Other pictures of the character from the comics are featured throughout each entry. The pictures are from the Marvel books as well as the the other publishers.
The entries usually consist of the main points fo the character's history, but will also feature major points and highlights as well. Their history covers all mediums as well, from the various comic titles/publishers to both the Sunbow and DiC cartoon series.
Less used characters have smaller entries, usually about half a page, but are still included. There are some characters from the comics that never had action figures or featured in the cartoon that have entries, like Billy, Cobra Commander's son.
The Cobra entries are similar to the Joes, but there is a two or three page spread on the Viper-corps alone, giving a brief description of each Viper and their job, as well and Zartan and the Noks getting a full two page spread.
The vehicle descriptions are where this book lacks. Not every vehicle is covered and they really only get a small blurb, but then again G.I.*JOE is a very character driven story line, they vehicles just get them from point A to point B and were rarely the main focal point of the story.
The only pictures used in the book from the Sunbow series are pictures of the MASS Device and the Weather Dominator.
This is a really good book to get the back story on the characters and I highly recommend it, but seriously, if you didn't know...THE ENTIRE STORY LINE REVOLVES AROUND SNAKE EYES AND COBRA COMMANDER. But it is a good story.

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Finally we get to a book that I read from front to back. The Ultimate Guide to G.I.*JOE, 1982-1994 by Marc Bellomo

Imagine if YoJoe and HalfBattle.com were in book form, then made more awesome, you might come close to this book.
The book is broken down into chapters by year. The opening to each chapter starts off with a summery of what was going on that particular year with the line and has a great photo featuring figures and vehicles from that year.
Going in alphabetical order, each figure is featured in a good clean photo along with their accessories. Each entry features a small blurb about the figure and well as sections from their file cards, usually from prototype file cards that Larry Hamma had submitted. Variations of the figure are also featured, like Cobra Commander's differing Cobra logo or Recondo's different camo patterns. Withing the text is often featured bits of trivia as well, like reason for Major Bludd's stiff right arm. It's not a robotic prosthesis, it's actually armored protection for his arm since his pistol fires small rockets.
My favorite bit of trivia is in regards to Mainframe; his file card mentions him having served in the Army, discharging, getting bored with civilian life then joining the Marine Corps. This was not Larry Hamma's original intention for the character. On Mainframe's right breast pocket is a Combat Infantryman's Badge and a set of Jump Wings. These are Army decorations (which should be worn on the left breast pocket), yet his helmet features a Marine Corps Eagle, Globe and Anchor and his left sleeve has a patch for the Third Marine Division. Larry Hamma wrote Mainframe's file card to match the figure, making a few notes about such things to the design team.
Finanlly with each entry is a price guide that explains what a figure might be worth Mint on Card, Mint Loose and Loose.
The vehicles are featured the same way but after the first couple of years, the author resorts to writing all the features of the vehicles that are highlighted within the blue prints and box description, so it get kind of boring for the vehicles, although for some of the vehicles that have really cool features, he describes them in detail.
For both figure and vehicle entries he also explains what the easily lost parts and easily damaged parts are.
It's a good book most of the way through, but the last couple of years either he was running out of steam, ink, paper or suddenly under a time crunch or any combination there of. Some of the entries have only the name of the character and their potential worth with a description that reads "For more information on Destro, see previous entries." I found this kind of a bummer as I was hoping he'd highlight the Ninja Force and Street Fighter figures with the action moves. (Yes, I hate the action features on the figures, but strangely find them fascinating at the same time.)
I really liked this book and enjoyed the great pictures of figures and vehicles I haven't seen in years or have never seen at all. I recommend this book to anyone who is a collector, just to keep on hand for that day the Zombie Apocalypse occurs and you can't access YoJoe to see what gun goes with the figure you're planning on trading for food. I'm looking around to see if there is a follow up to this book.

Also, this book helped me win an argument with Jay...that should be worth the cover price alone

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I have all three and I enjoy all of them.

I can really use the Field Manual.

If you are looking for info on the cartoon, try this one. http://amzn.com/1570329028 Click in the "Look Inside" option to see what is covered.

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i like the 2nd one