I've read books and articles about, for example, what the ideal orientation of a house is. I take south facing windows as an example. Lots of info about size, shading, type of glass, etc. But I still have to find a book that continues with "...but if south facing windows are not possible the next best thing to do is...." Are there books that leave the path of an ideal piece of land?

I've been reading "Fundamentals of Sustainable Dwellings - Avi Friedman,March 2012"
He references several time to "Numbers, M. J. 1995. “Siting a House.” Fine Homebuilding 93: 40–45."
I've been searching on Amazon.com but can't locate the book. Does anyone have an ISBN number or link to the book?

One interesting quote referencing to that book is:

Since larger surface areas lead to greater heat loss, it is generally more energy efficient for a dwelling to be designed in the form of a cube rather than as an elongated rectangle. The length-to-width ratio, however, may vary depending on climate. According to Numbers (1995) the most energy-conserving ratios of length to width are 1.1–1.3:1 for cold climates, 1.6–2.4:1 for temperate climates, 1.3–1.6:1 for hot and arid climates, and 1.7–3:1 for hot and humid climates,

Fine Homebuilding is a magazine. If I had to guess, I would say it is volume or issue 93, pages 40-45.