If someone asked for my recommendations for reading on state machines I would point them to Michael Sipser's Introduction to Theory of Computation. http://www.

If someone asked for my recommendations for reading on state machines I would point them to Michael Sipser's Introduction to Theory of Computation. http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Theory-Computation-Michael-Sipser/dp/053494728X http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Theory-Computation-Michae... Though I get the impression you're looking for something a bit more like an oreilly cookbook or nutshell book.