move by move series

I picked up the winawer move by move by everyman chess and I'm a pretty big fan of the way this book goes about teaching the general concepts and ideas behind certain lines. I recently got back into tournament play and decided i wanted to make a try for 1900 in the next year and this series seems to explain the opening better than any other book i've bought. obviously memorization is always going to be necessary but at my level (uscf 1751) I know it's more important to understand the concepts more than specifics. Anyone else have good luck with the way this book teaches as opposed to the other opening books? I ordered the nimzo move by move as well , hoping it's just as articulate. And to people wondering the book doesnt really explain each move individually, it's more about the critical choicesone has to choose from. 

Are you looking to play the White or Black side, Justin? I'm not familiar with the move by move books, but I consider McDonald's Mastering the French a real classic. I can loan you my copy if you like. http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-French-Neil-McDonald/dp/0713457163/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1398290758&sr=8-2&keywords=Mastering+the+French

I'm look to play the black side mostly, but i'm primarily an e4 player and I don't feel like a I have a great system figured out yet against the french. At least something i'm comfortable playing. I'm looking at 3 nc3 at the moment as black and white. I've literally played everything against it without a ton of success. the flavor of the month is the KIA. But yea Id love to borrow it.