Civardi is a gifted artist who has authored some valuable books, primarily on figure drawing. However, this book has one major flaw which is not the fault of the artist. Most of the reproductions are extremely faint, using less than half of the available dynamic range of the printing process. Consequently you must have good vision (which I don't) and plenty of light to get something out of this book. There is no excuse for this and it's the fault of the publisher. If any book requires clarity then it's one that deals with the often-subtle tonal variations required to depict the human form.
Artshogun claims Civardi has 'failed to maintain accurate proportions' on many of the figures. I see no obvious errors of proportion.
Artshogun also states that the 'sausage-smooth approach to rendering his figures...has squashed the life and movement out of them'. It is true that the poor reproduction has had a severe flattening effect on many of the drawings. However, this is not really a book on drawing technique, or portraying the human form expressively. Instead it uses pencil to capture valuable anatomical information in an simple, elegant and unaffected way. To quote from the foreword by the artist. "Instead of expressively interpreting the form, I preferred to document it using a rather neutral, almost linear art style."
While Civardi's 'linear hatching' rendering technique may not be your cup of tea (Civardi has a broad range of drawing styles, which can be seen in many of his other books, which focus more on expression.), it is without question clear, consistent, and informative. Consequently, and most importantly it provides the perfect jumping off point for an artist to interpret the human form using his or her own technique.
Aside from the previously mentioned flaw, this is a valuable reference on drawing the human body.