Looking for a book on figure drawing

[ZIM]

Hello.

For a high school student who loves art but haven't been able to pursue it lately because of studies, summer vacation is a beautiful thing. In particular, I've been looking into figure drawing, so I'd like some input on some good books that I could use. I understand anatomy is very important, so I've tried doing some research into books on that subject.

Two books that I've been hearing a lot of praise about from friends of mine are as follows:
Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Peck (http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Human-Anatomy-Artist-Galaxy/dp/0195030958)
Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters by Robert Hale (http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Lessons-Great-Masters-Fundamentals/dp/0823014010/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-9819227-1349616?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181426458&sr=1-1)

I'd like some input from those of you who have experience with either of these books, or even those who have other books they can recommend. I'm on a budget right now, so I can't afford tremendously expensive books. I'm looking for something preferably under $20, but I can work with under $30. Thank you very much.

[Eloth]

Here is one for free and it is probably the best one you can get:

http://redawg.myweb.uga.edu/andrewloomis.pdf

Combine this with anatomy books. I recomend:

Artistic Anatomy by Dr. Paul Richer (it's a tough read, but I normally just use the pictures. Great Illustrations.)

Human Anatomy for Artists by Eliot Goldfinger (great for getting the details of almost every muscle there is.)

Anything by Andrew Loomis is gold. He was a student of Bridgeman (also another artist you should look into) and is one of the best figure artists I have ever seen. Most of his books can be found at http://www.fineart.sk/ at 72 dpi. The first link I gave is 300 dpi, so take it to a local print shop and get it printed out. Good luck!

[darkface]

A great book for those starting out is The Vilppu Drawing Manual.

[RaevenArs]

Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life would be my pick for the budget-minded. Easily less than 20 bucks in most cases. It's a bit on the intermediate side though, best go with a free one (Like Loomis' up there) before spending the money.

[Shoe]

A book I found helpful was Anatomy for the Artist by Sarah Simblet:
http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Artist-Sarah-Simblet/dp/078948045X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0795284-7073562?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181862008&sr=8-1

What was nice about it is that there are actually photographs rather than ones renderings to draw from. I found it frustrating when I was trying to draw something and had to go by someone else's interpretation. There is a flip side to this though when you are trying to draw an arm and wondering "how the hell can I simplify that?"

I hope this is helpful.