This is not about t-shirt graphics - it's about non-mainstream artists who have happened to put their designs on tees. I get the strong impression that many of the graphics featured have never been printed on a t-shirt. Because the book features mainly abstract designs, it is very hard to relate with on a personal level.
This book does not feature any corporate owned lines, which tend to better exploit the imprinted clothing medium. Because of this you won't see any creative printing techniques or processes.
Many of the labels presented are popular in their originating country only and not worldwide. They should have organized graphics by geographic origin to clarify this, but instead act as if the lines are known worldwide when they are not. Very few, if any, Americans will have heard of these clothing lines, even the ones that are stateside.
The authors of this book obviously know nothing about creating artwork for t-shirts. They know nothing about the trends in the industry nor any of the popular brands of clothing. They don't know that American, Japan, Australia, and the European countries all have different tastes in fashion.
Creating a great t-shirt graphic requires the artist to understand the screen printing process, materials and techniques. The artworks featured were not created by graphic artists familiar with screen printing. They did not exploit the medium by creating complex color separations, half tone patterns, special inks, or other creative processes. Most art featured only has a few solid colors with no blends or details. Most designers appear to have taken the cheap route by not using a lot of colors (since each new color adds to the cost of the shirt).
They also feature far too many designs from each label/artist. They should have offered a bigger sampling from more designers and even corporate lines. Seeing twenty designs from one artist makes me think they were just lazy about finding more samples.
If you want to see professional t-shirt graphics, look at some screen printing trade magazines like Impressions. Try to look at the techniques being used and not the topic of the artwork. If you want to see some good graphic design, buy a different book. This book will not inspire anyone.