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Summary: I'll never use inch marks for quotation marks again.
Review: As a person who's fairly particular about grammar and punctuation, I was mortified to find out how many gaffes I was making in my documents. This is a very useful little handbook to keep nearby when you're ready to polish what you'vre written. It took me a week to get out of the habit of putting two spaces after every period, but I think I'm cured now.
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Summary: A must-read book
Review: Considering that Dave from Kentucky (review below) couldn't spell "subtlety," I'd take his advice with a big grain of salt. Fact is, we *do* need to know the difference between an em and an en dash. Using them in your writing makes you look like a professional as opposed to an amateur.
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Summary: A packet of diamonds!
Review: Don't let the size of this book fool you. It is must reading for any Mac user, and for that matter for any Windows user today. Basic concepts that aren't covered elsewhere and make using the computer so much easier. I look forward to the revised version coming out November 15, 2001.
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Summary: Must read for anyone starting out in desktop publishing
Review: For anyone getting started in DTP or if you are interested in making printed pages look better, this is the best place to start. Written in a casual style, this book is an easy read and a paradigm breaker. While it will not make you a pre-press expert, you will never look at graphic design or printing the same way again. Simple yet invaluable
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Summary: Buy this book!
Review: Hands down, this is the most important computer book I have ever read.
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Summary: An End To Segregation!
Review: I agree entirely with Anthony Reimer. I _am_ teaching a 'word processing 101' course (though not under that title), and this is an excellent choice... except for its exclusivity.Rather than following up with 'Beyond The Mac is Not a Typewriter', I believe Williams should have stepped into the modern age by recognising that there doesn't have to be a gulf between Mac and PC users. If she were to produce a second edition, a 'The Computer is Not a Typewriter' junking the out-of-date technical detail, but retaining the no-nonsense advise, I would hail her as the Saviour of Civilisation! (and of course insist on all my students buying her book). Until that day I am forced merely to use her book for inspiration with my class, some of whom own PCs, some of whom own Macs.
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Summary: A Good Reference Book
Review: I had to purchase this book for one of my graphic design courses this year. At first, I thought this book was a waste of money, until I read it, and it does give a lot of handy and helpful advices on designing. It's a thin book, but it has good quality to it. It's light enough to carry around too *wink*.
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Summary: A Little Gem!
Review: I started using this book years ago for my own work, and I don't think mine is all that bad! I have been using it as a text (and even its companion volume "The PC is not a Typewriter") for about 9 years in various university-level courses. I find that the material is highly relevant and well presented. I find it quite easy to discuss how to implement the ideas in our current software, and a quick spell in the computer lab with a real assignment gets the fundamentals into the students' minds. Very few of my students know beforehand the basic rules Williams sets out, and their work does improve as a result of this text. Roll on the revised edition in November, 2001! Yes, Williams was one of the earliest writers to produce a quality, informative book on this subject for beginners. Yes, the information is available in other places, but this is one of the most compact and well-presented places to find it. Combing through MacWorld and Adobe magazines is not the simplest way of finding the information, and 'Looking Good in Print' is a rather massive alternative source. Yes, the details of individual software packages are dated, but the fundamental ideas are not, and what sort of a teacher would I be if I couldn't figure out how to apply the ideas to our current software. Finally, at under ..., this is great value. Compare the less well-formatted, self-typeset, C programming standard text by Kernighan and Ritchie, with somewhat more pages and just two editions in 23 years, that is still ..., and see which might be better value. I use and love them both, but have few qualms about using Williams' book as a required text, compared to K&R.
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Summary: Succinct reference for everyone.
Review: Much has changed in the desktop publishing world in the eight years since the first edition of The Mac is Not a Typewriter but the basic rules for creating professional-level type have not. Prolific Mac writer Robin Williams updated her style manual to remind all of us of the importance of proper style in professional and personal communications. With only 80 pages, it is a quick read of common problems and mistakes including line spacing, quotation marks, apostrophes, dashes, underlining, capitals, tabs, spacing, justified text and includes two appendices summarizing rules and shortcuts. Inclusion of the history of typesetting and manuscript styling and her sense of humor transforms a rather dry, textbook-like subject into an interesting and fun read. Who doesn't use their computer to prepare documents? Though the title might not grab the attention of some readers, don't be fooled. Everyone can benefit from this style manual.
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Summary: Great For Professionals, Not So Great For The Rest of Us
Review: Robin Williams knows typography, and this is a textbook in typography. For the professional creating hard copy documents this is an exceptional source. For the rest of us, it contains a lot of techincal (unimportant information. The differences between an en dash and and an em dash are important for professionals. For the vast majority of us, it is a subtletly we needn't worry about. Moreover there are typographical issues (such as kerning) covered in the book that you CANNOT acheive on home computer with one of the standard word processing programs. What is important for the non professional typist to know (use "smart" quotes, don't space twice after a period, italicize instead of underlining, create a long (em) dash by typing shift + option + -) are widely discussed in other places.
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