LostTactic wrote on 07/19/11 at 20:38:52:
If you want to play the Grand Prix, then definitely, Gawain is the world's leading expert in the system.
Regarding this point, I'm reluctant to concur. IM Alexander Bangiev has a theoretical and practical background spanning over decades (Historical note: he did also share some analysis with Kramnik, way back when he was enjoying the GPA). I possess the Jones book as well as the Bangiev 1.e4 cd, and I must say that I value the Bangiev stuff more. On another sidenote, IM Wippermann (student of bangiev also equipped with a lot of GPA experience, playing the GPA against McShane and others) did beat Gawain with the black pieces (around one year after the book was released), neutralising precisely white's idea.
One can argue that the book is 'only' a starting out. Then again also a "mere" local GPA protege like me could have assembled this book, as I personally didn't learn anything out of the book and disagreed on some evaluations.
This is the most critical point: there are several passages in the starting out book where Gawain claims some advantage for the first player, where objectively speaking, its not so easy. He does this quite enthusiastically and 'easily' dismisses some black possibilities. Yet in some cases, his recommendation leads to equal or even inferior positions.
Even if you disagree on Bangiev due to the sheer rating difference, your opinion seems to be way too focused on the current playing situation. Remember that the GPA is not very famous at the moment, but was heavily discussed in the nineties. I would consider (of course) Short as well as Anand (!) to be bigger experts on the GPA than Jones.