I really don't think that article was written and linked to for the purpose of peddling products since the books are all from different authors. Although that may be an ignorant assumption on my part. What is more important though is the misinformation in the article.
1. G scale is not 1:22.5. true standard gauge g scale I believe is actually 1:32 while the former scale represents a narrow gauge of 3'4"
2. HO scale and OO scale are not 1:87 Ho scale is 1:87 and OO is 1:76.2 but they both utilize 16.5 mm gauge track
First of all, thank you to Bwells for the compliment. I do try to be welcoming and helpful (whether I succeed or not is another issue).
In this case, though, yes, the website is one of many salted throughout the internet that purport to be a "review" or "advice" website, but just serve to provide links to a vendor, in this case, Amazon.com. I have experienced many, from tools, to exercise equipment, to golf clubs.
The hyperlinked text words are deliberately placed, with direct links to the Amazon products. You may notice that the author doesn't actually discuss different books to help the beginner, but takes a "buy this one" approach (again, right to Amazon). His other articles "Best Lionel Set", "Best HO Train Sets", all link to one manufacturer's products on Amazon. Just on the subject of HO train sets, why anyone wouldn't discuss LifeLike and Trainman sets, or even the pros and cons of trainsets vs. scratchbuilt, is a dead giveaway.
The "Model Trains for Beginners" is a book-club type product, which attempts to sell the reader overpriced books filled with information that can be found elsewhere (like here). It touts it's "closely guarded secrets of model railroading". Really? Ask any model railroader of my acquaintance about the hobby, and you're likely to get a lot more information than you want or can handle. Anyone who would recommend that product as the best way to get information has an ulterior motive.
I'm always suspicious when someone directs you to a website that they created, especially when the same answers are located in the thread he's directing you away from. I've been wrong about people (Mixy and SCARM), but not in this case. If you search King0735's posts, you'll see how he responds when challenged on the subject. I hope he only gets revenue when someone actually buys one of his linked products, because if he gets paid purely for web traffic, then I've given him money just by investigating, and that would tick me off.
And yes, the errors are worrisome to us, but not to the author. He's a salesman. If he were forthright about it, it wouldn't bother me, but he's trying to push product under the guise of helping beginners. To me, it seems too much like taking advantage of someone who comes to you for help, and that's always rubbed me the wrong way.