I have built full scribe, full log *****, D logs (milled flat on 3 sides) and vertical log homes.
Personally, I believe the vertical log home is best suited to the owner/builder with the D log style close behind. The 8' length of vertical logs and the simplicity of material handling is by far the biggest reason why owner/builders may wish to consider the method. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Full scribe and full log ***** are typically thought of as the "top of the line" log structures. Full scribe is by far the most labor intensive.
2 names in these fields are regarded as the gurus, B Alan Mackie and Robert Chambers. Nearly anything written by either of these men will be extremely helpful & informative. As far as I'm concerned, the log home building industry has Mackie & Chambers.......and then everyone else. They are undoubtedly in a category of there own.
Full scribe and full log ***** homes are not very well suited to the owner/builder, mainly because few owner/builders possess a crane, or some machinery suitable of lifting 50' logs on a repeated basis.
I'm of the opinion that the best instructional book written by the very best individual on the subject, will never come close to covering all aspects of construction and all the logistics of log home building.
There is lots of info on the web regarding log home building. For more info on the vertical log building style visit
http://www.vertical-log-courses-homes.net/buildings.html Rob Varey is one of the few log home building contractors that undertake the vertical log construction method.
Several authors have written on D log construction.