Ive done a very small amount of hand held up-braiding (andean,peruvian,etc) and it seems to me that it is very much like kumihimo; just done from the hand instead of a maru-dai
 
If I could only have one I'd buy the Rodrick Owen 250 braids... for the fine pattern drawings.
the sling braiding of the Andes monograph isn't terribly clear on how the patterns are developed; or at least I have trouble understanding her pattern nomenclature. If you can afford it spring for both  

I bought both Sling Braiding of the Andes and 250 Braids at the same time when I wanted to learn how to do Peruvian and Tibetan sling braids. Both books are excellent resources, and I still use both of them, but they approach the subject of braiding in two different ways. 250 Braids teaches braiding with the use of a marudai or braiding table, or using a card instead of a table. Sling Braiding of the Andes shows the traditional Peruvian way of braiding with the hands. The braids and patterns in 250 Braids are from all over the world, and it includes a few recently invented braids. Sling Braiding of the Andes focuses on ancient and modern South American braids.  
 
As to which I'd recommend, it depends on where your interests lie. If you want a book on braids in general, and you want, or at least are willing, to make or acquire a braiding table and bobbins, than I'd go with 250 Braids, since it covers more types of braids than Sling Braiding of the Andes, and I find the directions and illustrations easier to follow. Even if you don't get a braiding table, you can use a simple braiding card to follow the instructions, but it's slower than a table. If you want to study more about South American braids and are interested in how to braid by hand, than Sling Braiding of the Andes is probably a better choice. Its directions are a bit complicated for some of the braids, but the collection of old and new South American patterns is great, and it also has directions for creating your own patterns and copying existing ones. 250 braids does have some 8 and 16 strand Peruvian patterns, but Sling Braiding of the Andes goes beyond that with 24 and 32 strand braids, as well as complicated core-carrying braids with variable color patterns.
 
Both books have illustrations of slings (Sling Braiding of the Andes has more of them), but both focus on braiding, and neither of them tells very well how to make a sling. However, it's not really that difficult to come up with ways to incorporate the braids into sling designs by looking sling pictures and online sling tutorials.
 
I hope that helps.
 
-Timothy Potter

I acquired my copy, "Sling braids of the Andes", via Amazon.com.  My other braid related books have been local purchases from bookstores, fiber shops and local ranch supply.

Seller .. nope.. might tryhttp://www.abebooks.co.uk/ it is up to each seller to provide the shipping
and shipping cost to the buyer.

I bought copies of both braiding books from here: http://www.lacis.com/
 
They say they will ship anywhere in the world, but I don't have experience with that, because I picked up the books when I visited their store in Berkeley, CA.
 
-Timothy Potter