Music Theory books ?

Piston is very, very hard work. The book was originally written in the 1940's with a contemporary writing style, which has never been updated. I found that I had to read some passages several times before I had understood his use of (American-)English, let alone what he was trying to get across. It may be just a little too much for someone who has English as a second language IMO. It is certainly not a beginner's book (beginner to theory, that is)
I bought mine off ebay, used - I paid about EUR20, because it isn't the latest version, although the versions seem to change very little.
A good starter on theory is Tom Serb's (Noteboat) book.

I took two years of theory at university, and we used Piston and a book written by our department head. If you're learning theory on your own and with no previous experience, that's probably not the right book. You might find Ottmans's "Elementary Harmony" an easier go, but you might also check out others like NoteBoat's book, or the various "modern/pop" theory books you'll find at Borders or Barnes and Noble...also, a lot of people prefer the older editions of the Piston book, not the latest edition, which has been revised by Mark DeVoto. I think mine is third edition...

Its just that i want a book which is comprehensive.I don't mind difficult theory really.I am used to difficult things (eh atleast my accountancy is one :oops:).If i can have ONE book which give me a solid base in music theory without buying lots of supplements , that's really what i am looking for.

Also david hodge says in an article - "harmony is the best possible book on music theory that one could EVER happen to possess."

I would like to study music theory for about 1/2 hour everyday regularly.So i want to go for the best one.Its kind of a very diversed opinion out there.

Thanks for all your advices.
Let me hope for the best. :D

Rahul