The book should be titled, "Zen And The Art of String Changing".

The reason for kinking the string both where it enters the tuning peg and where it leaves and for wraping the loose end back, under and over itself, is so that it won't slip and go out of tune, later on. Many people have mistakenly replaced tuning machines or gotten rid of guitars because they wouldn't stay in tune, when all they needed to do was maintain the machines and string them properly. I have never broken a string by kinking it at the tuning post. There are other reasons, having to do with the nut, for a string to break at that end.

To get the right amount of slack, just put four fingers between the fingerboard and the new string, at the 12th fret, before locking the string on the post.

I also install the new strings from the outside in, so that the installed ones do not get in my way, when I go to install subsequent strings. I cut the excess as short as possible, so that I won't get stuck and bleed all over my guitar.

Thanx, EZR