Having recently finished this, and having it fresh in mind, I figured I'd do this review first.
The book is a simple but good introduction to someone new to the runes; that said, it wasn't quite what I expected; it was a solely scholarly look at runes, covered magical use of runes only slightly (and in historical context), and didn't cover divination practices at all.
This however, to me, does not in any way diminish the usefulness of the book; accurate, historical coverage of runes I think helps to place them in context, and besides, it's interesting entirely in it's own regard.
Runesters should not frown upon such sources of information, even if they seem to sometimes show disregard for divinatory practices (which this one, BTW, doesn't)
Actually, for me, this was good news, as I was afraid, having already owned and read Sweyn Plowritght's "Rune Primer", the book would be largely redundant. I needn't have worried - the approach and subject matter was different enough to complement, not clash with, one another.
Actually, for someone on a budget, or with not a lot of free time to read, who wants a good, clear well rounded intro to the runes from both scholarly and metaphysical angles, buying both books would provide nearly everything you could want to know, while not foisting any strange, syncretic new-age or subjective constructs on the reader.
For someone completely unfamiliar with the known history and culture of the runes, this would be a great launching point.
All rune poems are included within it, as well as some other poetic sources which are useful for gaining insight. Also discussed are the phonetic elements of the runes and some of the major runic archaeological finds.
The book only runs roughly $10 USD on Amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.com/Rudiments-Runelore-Stephen-Pollington/dp/1898281491/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301599757&sr=8-1 