If you're buying a book online, take a look at when it was published. I would say that anything published in the last ten years would have the newer shortcut methods that you like. If you have a chance to actually examine a quilting book, they always have a techniques section and you can make your determination from that. I've been quilting for 40 years and absolutely love the new shortcut techniques and the modern quilt movement in general even though I started out with the traditional quilts and methods.