Rating: 
Summary: Very Helpful
Review: Robin Williams does such a great job explaining design concept's to "non-designers." I feel like she's teaching me. Here, she turns her attention to typography. Anyone could learn a great deal about typography without having read any other books on the subject from this book. Williams, being a designer, takes a visual approach to teaching typography and has a humorous way of hammering important points into your head. Not only will you be more sensitive to how type works after reading this book, but you will know the terminology of typography and, most importantly, know how to use type well and creatively.
Rating: 
Summary: * * * WARNING * * *
Review: This book is simply a repackaging of the book ÒBeyond the Mac is not a TypewriterÒ (I assume there is also a PeeCee version). The Amazon blurb doesnÕt mention this but the Peachpit Press website does.
Rating:
Summary: Great info, but sometimes annoying style
Review: This book provided me with tons of valuable information on typography, such that even with my experience in desk-top publishing and web design, I learned a great deal.The only drawback for me was that I found the author's style sometimes annoying and demeaning. The book is replete with comments like "don't be dumb", and frankly, I think the same information could be presented in an equally light and humorous manner without constantly implying that if the reader hasn't or doesn't follow all of the author's tips to a "t", he/she is somehow stupid, ignorant, etc. I would've enjoyed the book a lot more if Ms. Williams had treated her readers like equals. Teaching is never as effective when the students are being demeaned.
Rating:
Summary: Great intro
Review: Very accessible and readable. It says it's for non-designers, yet I know some excellent designers who could use some basic typography training - as this book provides.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT for type lovers
Review: When I picked up this book, I figured that the title, "The Non-Designer's Type Book," meant that it was a book about type, FOR non-designers. After reading it, from cover to cover, I now wonder if the title refers to the author's credentials rather than the book's target audience. I love typography. I sit in theaters and watch every minute of the rolling credits if the font used is well chosen and well displayed. I have a Caslon 540 lower-case "g" pinned to the wall above my Mac instead of swimsuit pics. If you love type, you know what I'm talking about. If you love type, avoid this book and do not recommend it to anyone who hopes to someday love typography and master its use. Robin Williams' cutesy and heavy-handed text, while sometimes informative, is loaded with irritating "insights" as well as written-in-stone directives that are passed off as law. For instance, in at least two places, she states that type should NEVER, EVER be underlined. She says that it's a "law" that should "never" be broken. C'mon Robin! I mean yes, underlining is very often misused, but have you looked at the latest PRINT or CA Annual? There is a time and a place for underlining and the sensitive, savvy designer knows when and how to do it. She outright trashes one of the most elegantly designed faces in the history of the printed word, Helvetica, and glibly states that it will be out of style for the "next two hundred years." What?? Again, has Ms. Williams even looked at what contemporary (and effective) designers are doing these days? Helvetica is alive and flourishing. And, at the same time she is trashing Helvetica, she calls "rendered" type (such as 3D effects, letters that appear to be chiseled from stone or made of, say, salad greens) typography's "most beautiful" trend. She's killin' me!! If you want to fulfill and expand your appreciation for typography, buy Robert Bringhurst's exquisite manual, The Elements of Typographic Style.
Rating:
Summary: NOT for type lovers
Review: When I picked up this book, I figured that the title, "The Non-Designer's Type Book," meant that it was a book about type, FOR non-designers. After reading it, from cover to cover, I now wonder if the title refers to the author's credentials rather than the book's target audience. I love typography. I sit in theaters and watch every minute of the rolling credits if the font used is well chosen and well displayed. I have a Caslon 540 lower-case "g" pinned to the wall above my Mac instead of swimsuit pics. If you love type, you know what I'm talking about. If you love type, avoid this book and do not recommend it to anyone who hopes to someday love typography and master its use. Robin Williams' cutesy and heavy-handed text, while sometimes informative, is loaded with irritating "insights" as well as written-in-stone directives that are passed off as law. For instance, in at least two places, she states that type should NEVER, EVER be underlined. She says that it's a "law" that should "never" be broken. C'mon Robin! I mean yes, underlining is very often misused, but have you looked at the latest PRINT or CA Annual? There is a time and a place for underlining and the sensitive, savvy designer knows when and how to do it. She outright trashes one of the most elegantly designed faces in the history of the printed word, Helvetica, and glibly states that it will be out of style for the "next two hundred years." What?? Again, has Ms. Williams even looked at what contemporary (and effective) designers are doing these days? Helvetica is alive and flourishing. And, at the same time she is trashing Helvetica, she calls "rendered" type (such as 3D effects, letters that appear to be chiseled from stone or made of, say, salad greens) typography's "most beautiful" trend. She's killin' me!! If you want to fulfill and expand your appreciation for typography, buy Robert Bringhurst's exquisite manual, The Elements of Typographic Style.
Rating:
Summary: NOT for type lovers
Review: When I picked up this book, I figured that the title, "The Non-Designer's Type Book," meant that it was a book about type, FOR non-designers. After reading it, from cover to cover, I now wonder if the title refers to the author's credentials rather than the book's target audience. I love typography. I sit in theaters and watch every minute of the rolling credits if the font used is well chosen and well displayed. I have a Caslon 540 lower-case "g" pinned to the wall above my Mac instead of swimsuit pics. If you love type, you know what I'm talking about. If you love type, avoid this book and do not recommend it to anyone who hopes to someday love typography and master its use. Robin Williams' cutesy and heavy-handed text, while sometimes informative, is loaded with irritating "insights" as well as written-in-stone directives that are passed off as law. For instance, in at least two places, she states that type should NEVER, EVER be underlined. She says that it's a "law" that should "never" be broken. C'mon Robin! I mean yes, underlining is very often misused, but have you looked at the latest PRINT or CA Annual? There is a time and a place for underlining and the sensitive, savvy designer knows when and how to do it. She outright trashes one of the most elegantly designed faces in the history of the printed word, Helvetica, and glibly states that it will be out of style for the "next two hundred years." What?? Again, has Ms. Williams even looked at what contemporary (and effective) designers are doing these days? Helvetica is alive and flourishing. And, at the same time she is trashing Helvetica, she calls "rendered" type (such as 3D effects, letters that appear to be chiseled from stone or made of, say, salad greens) typography's "most beautiful" trend. She's killin' me!! If you want to fulfill and expand your appreciation for typography, buy Robert Bringhurst's exquisite manual, The Elements of Typographic Style.
Rating:
Summary: The First Book to Buy for Anyone Entering the World of Type
Review: While the title suggests it's a weak primer for amateurs it is actually an excellent read for all those needing to review the basics of typography. Your work will look better and your confidence will improve after reading this book. Williams style is casual, often humorous, and always easily understood. Too bad it's just a repackaging of Beyond the Mac is Not a Typewriter. I bought it cluelessly as there is no indication on the cover. A bit of a sales scam behind a generally good book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good information, but the author gets on your nerves
Review: You'll find good information and clear explanations with plenty of examples in this book, so there's no denying that you'll learn something by reading it. Plus, although it is technically a technical book, it's fairly easy to read even as a bed time book. But the author has the terrible habit of treating the reader as if they were complete idiots, and her patronizing tone really got on my nerves more than once. She cautions the reader with "don't be dumb" at least a dozens times, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Basically, the author seems to believe that she's the most brilliant genious ever to have walked the surface of this planet and she really thinks she knows what's right and what's wrong. You'll also get advice like "you thought that this was right, but now you know it's wrong, so don't be dumb" all the time. It bothers me that anyone can behave as if they were the sole guardians of The Truth. This book could have been called The Gospel According to Robin Williams. Another aspect that bothered me is that, in the name of "good design", the book uses a third more paper than it really should. It's extra-tall format makes it seem to be denser, but in fact most pages have only been printed on the top half. Oh, and Robin Williams also mentions her other books in most chapters, so if you were to follow her advice to the letter you'd end up with the full collection of her books
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