What Jones has done here is produce an open, flagrant and (if you know the genre) hilarious parody of books which often tremble on self-parody to start with. The Tough Guide consists of a set of instructions for use, follow by an alphabetical guide to the features of Fantasyland and a typical tour therein, complete with handy marginal symbols for thematic cross-references. (The symbols can be marvelous: s.v. Dark Lord, Eunuchs and Vestigial Empire.) Quite frankly I would have been happy to buy the book for the entries Boots, Ecology, Economy and Horses alone. Many of Jones's targets can be found in Tolkien (e.g. the Anglo-Saxon Cossacks), but many others cannot, and it would be amusing, in a masochistic way, to track down their sources. (I am particularly curious about where the Small Man comes from.) I laughed a great deal, and intend to keep this book on my shelves for easy reference --- indefinitely, alas.
People who don't read fantasy because they think it's all dreck should probably avoid this book, because it will only confirm their worst fears. (But they might enjoy seeing how many of its entries have instances or immediate analogues in their own favorite form of fiction; I've met the Small Man in novels by professors of creative writing about the travails of professors of creative writing, for instance.) People who read drecky fantasy ought to read it, but they probably won't. People who read fantasy but can't stand the dreck will find this hilarious. People who want to write fantasy should definitely read it, so that they know what not to do --- or exactly what to do, if they wish to turn to Evil.