Bob Miller wrote:
"Is there a good layman`s book on grounding amateur gear?"

The ARRL Handbook for starters, My newest is the 1987 edition. It has
several pages of good suggestions on "The National Electrical Code",
protective devices, and lightning protection. They suggest books and
pamphlets to request for planning your installation.

There is no big disparity between lightning protection and electrical
noise abatement. The techniques are almost the same. I`ve checked
lightning prepared status by checking noise rejection capability.
Lightning is an enormous noise.

Want complete protection? Seal your protected treasure inside a seamless
box constructed of highly-conductive sturdy material. No wires enter and
no wires leave. No noise, no lightning, and no damage to the contents
either.
Now, bring wires through the box but use a series impedance in each (a
choke), and use a shunt admittance (a capacitor) between each wire and
the box. Better yet, confine the area where wires enter and leave the
box to a small space or window so that all the ground connections can be
made in the same spot. Again, no noise, no lightning, and no damage to
contents inside the box.

It works. I`ve done it.

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI