frencih defence

Well isn't that what you should expect from an introductory book? More focus on explanations than tons of lines? For someone like me who doesn't really know the 1st thing about most lines of the French it's a great book I think. 

If you are a serious player and serious about playing the french as black then you will end up buying more than just 1 book on the french. I have half a dozen or more and a dozen or more books on the sicilian. I play both sides of the french often so I need them all ....

Well, yeah. McDonald's book is a repertoire book. He actually gives two lines to try for each major variation, which is more variety than most repertoire books, but he does only give his recommended lines within each variation.