IMO the Wheelpro [1] book is far better for actually building a wheel. Brandt's book is great, but it's more an engineering textbook explaining why the (generally) strongest wheel is three-cross with butted (swaged) spokes and how spoke tying is irrelevant.
A lot of Brandt's conclusions aren't as relevant in the modern world of carbon fiber rims, which are so stiff that all sorts of interesting things can be done with regards to spoke count.
(For those that aren't aware, carbon rims are so stiff they don't really get trued. They need to be centered so there's no wobble/runout, but tensioning an individual spoke, or even a few near each other, won't create a hop like it does on a flexible metal rim. So building a carbon wheel is more an exercise in evenly bringing up tension while maintaining proper dish and horizontal and lateral centering, but they don't get trued in the traditional sense.)
A lot of Brandt's conclusions aren't as relevant in the modern world of carbon fiber rims, which are so stiff that all sorts of interesting things can be done with regards to spoke count.
(For those that aren't aware, carbon rims are so stiff they don't really get trued. They need to be centered so there's no wobble/runout, but tensioning an individual spoke, or even a few near each other, won't create a hop like it does on a flexible metal rim. So building a carbon wheel is more an exercise in evenly bringing up tension while maintaining proper dish and horizontal and lateral centering, but they don't get trued in the traditional sense.)
[1] https://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php