The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to be as They are

Amazon.com

This surprising book may appear to be about the simple things of life--forks, paper clips, zippers--but in fact it is a far-flung historical adventure on the evolution of common culture. To trace the fork's history, Duke University professor of civil engineering Henry Petroski travels from prehistoric times to Texas barbecue to Cardinal Richelieu to England's Industrial Revolution to the American Civil War--and beyond. Each item described offers a cultural history lesson, plus there's plenty of engineering detail for those so inclined.

Book Description

Petroski tells fascinating stories about the arduous processes that resulted in paper clips, Post-its, Phillips-head screwdrivers, Scotch tape, and fast-food "clamshell" containers. "Petroski . . . an examines the simplest . . . tools in our lives with an appraising eye."--Washington Post Book World. 45 illus.

Customer Reviews:

All about the context.......2006-08-07

I found this book to be very illuminating in light of what I do (interaction design) and the books I have read recently on the latest in computational neuroeconomics, maninstream pattern recognotion theory, interaction design, visual design, industrial design, computer engineering, new marketing theory, and information design around complex systems. In fact, this book is almost a stake in the ground on how the manufacturing process, invention, and branding created the artifacts in our environment. Better than the Industrial Desig books I read 10 years ago. I think we would call these "case studies" and "use cases" in modern terminology. I mention all the fields above because every single one of them have an exact doppelganger in the past.

This book is a brilliant look at process and can be used as a research tool when looking at why something like the iPod caught on and why almost everything that has been developed at MIT in recent history (except eInk) has never gained a foothold in popular American culture. In the face of the rise of "everyware" computing, it's adoption in places like Korea and Japan, and only limited use by the rich for personal security in the US, I would say this is a must read for contemporary designers, no matter what depth of complexity their task at hand. This book predates the web, making it very enlightening in light of user-centered design in recent years.

This book looks at the relationship of genius design, corporate R+D, pop culture, the feedback loop for product innovation, and the adoption of standards around SIMPLE things. This means these case studies can be used to analyse the failures (and how failure breeds innovation, not "form follows function") of our complex information economy and embedded systems. Society has gone through it all before. And as projects become increasingly team based and open sourced (like Stanford's new d.school), just about anyone can find value in this book based within this context.

Worth the read.......2006-06-05

while I agree with some of the previous reviews that Petroski may overstate and repeat a little bit, this book is an excellent in depth look at the invention process as practiced by many people in parallel and in concert.

If you have any interest in Industrial Design, Interaction Design or just trivia for how object evolve this is a great read and Petroski surely knows his stuff.

I don't agree with some who call it too academic, the text is in depth, but not dry. It is not breazy or flip either...Just right*

An eye opener! .......2006-01-10

Ideal for anyone who harbours a casual interest in forks, pins, paper clips and zippers. Not recommended for people who hate forks, pins, paper clips and zippers, or people who are obsessed with forks, pins, paper clips and zippers and already know how they came to be as they are.

Hidden Depth.......2005-12-12

On the face of it, the Evolution of Useful Things simply lists fun trivia about familiar objects. Why does a fork have four tines and not two or three? What's a perfect paperclip? Is there such a thing? Who invented the zipper? How many things can you see on your desk right now?

However the book gives us much more. Petroski uses a large number of concrete facts to present general laws of human thought and activity. The paper clip appeared because pins used to hold papers together made holes in them and could injure someone looking through files, but it took a while for it to reach the form we know today. We invent new things because we are dissatisfied when we find problems. Form follows not function, but failure.

While small objects play the center role here, large machines such as locomotives and large projects such as bridges also come up. Petroski argues that for his concepts to be valid, they must apply to the great as well as the small and he shows that engineers design new bridges or tunnels by solving problems observed found while building other bridges and tunnels.

The book's title is especially good. The evolution of man-made things differs fundamentally from the evolution of living things. Natural selection follows a mindless process of sifting through countless minute _random_ changes. Things, however, evolve through a different process of sifting through countless _intended_ changes (sometimes small, somtimes large) until something arises that works better than before.

Petroski's writing does annoy me a little; he's got some really bad puns. For example he follows two different quotations of how to manufacture a needle with the phrase "there's more than one way to make a point." Another problem is that he repeats himself. For instance, he twice mentions Karl Marx's astonishment at finding 500 different kinds of hammers in a Birmingham factory.

But the originality of his thesis far outweighs these minor flaws. Henry Petroski is a philosopher of engineering examining the question of why we invent things. He asks why we are always perfecting our inventions, why we are never satisfied with our tools as they are. His proposed answers in no small way explain much of the history of our rich living environment with its tens of thousands of useful things.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

Worthwhile Reading.......2005-10-23

I really enjoyed this book. It was fascinating to learn how so many things came about. I enjoyed the history and the anecdotes and in-depth analysis of each topic.

I found it inspirational in many places. The creative artisan not only perfects his skills but looks beyond the routine to develop improved tools and processes. I read many passages to my kids.

I was dismayed when the author started writing about forks again when I thought we were all done with forks until I noticed the way the book is broken out by ideas and concepts rather than the specific examples. I think this is probably the most well-organized book I have ever read.

The Evolution Of Useful Things - How Everyday Artifacts - From Forks And Pins To Paper Clips & Zippers - Came To Be As They Are

Average customer rating:

The Evolution Of Useful Things - How Everyday Artifacts - From Forks And Pins To Paper Clips & Zippers - Came To Be As They Are
Henry Petroski
Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JZX32S

Book Description

In this searing indictment of current administration policy, Charles Tiefer, a distinguished scholar of national legal affairs and former solicitor of the House of Representatives, argues that President George W. Bush methodically manipulates the law to promote right-wing causes. The beneficiaries of these machinations range from frontline pro-weapon and anti-women's rights groups to major industries that profit from lax environmental standards and military intervention in resource-rich regions. Accessibly written, legally rigorous, and meticulously documented, Veering Right demonstrates how the administration's already-ample arsenal for accomplishing ideological goals was expanded with weapons such as Attorney General John Ashcroft's social crusades and the polarizing 2004 election campaign. Tiefer lays out a compelling case for how the administration consistently erects barriers to media and congressional oversight that might expose covert motivations to public scrutiny. With an eye on the future, the White House is building a durable and potentially dominant machine for pursuing ideological goals by awarding lifetime judgeships and by exchanging favors for campaign funding. This book presents eye-opening evidence that ultra-conservatives could achieve previously unimaginable successes during a second Bush term.
As a former Solicitor of the House of Representatives, Tiefer possesses a wealth of insight gleaned from decades of no-holds-barred investigations and judicial struggles. His wide-ranging perspective takes into account cultural changes, constitutional issues, partisan and electoral developments, and political personalities. The most exhaustive analysis to date of the Bush administration's real agenda, this book provides a rare insider's view of the strategic, devious, and potentially overpowering ways that presidents make ideological use of the law.
Veering Right Documents How
* President Bush's secrecy and deception undermined the democratic process by misleading Congress and the public about international and domestic matters ranging from doctored Iraq weapons intelligence to covered-up drugmaker subsidies paid for by seniors
* Bush's first term lays the groundwork for even more extreme right wing policies if he is re-elected. This agenda includes tilting the nation's tax structure against the middle class in Democratic states, weakening traditional Medicare by concentrating rising costs on poorer and sicker seniors, and exporting jobs via the trade fast track
* John Ashcroft used religiosity and race-baiting to build his political career and, after 9/11, blocked questioning of his abuses--ranging from concealed undermining of the Bill of Rights to promoting the intolerance of the religious right--by labeling it as suspicious and even treasonous
* Bush turned the public's reaction after 9/11 away from the logical Saudi suspects and against Iraq in a spectacular double-play to push his agenda in the world's oil patch
* Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton and her crew of lawyer-lobbyists ran the public's resources and its pollution controls like a candy store for pariah industries
* Bush's domestic legal gambits around big money paid off in 2004 with a historical gross campaign war chest as a quid pro quo for favors rendered
* The Bush Administration dismantled international legal regimes ranging from arms control and women's rights to global climate control and international tobacco regulation
* Bush's unilateralist alienation of potential support abroad hobbled both the Iraq occupation and the effort against terrorism

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Customer Reviews:

Veering Right .......2005-08-04

Mr. Tiefer admits that he is a lawyer, hence no one should be surprised when I say that he writes like one. In the fine tradition of legal briefs the world over, the style is dry, dry, dry. No Al Franken, this man. However, the information is important, well researched, and dead on the mark. Mr. Tiefer manages to lift the curtain on the current administration so well, that the last chapter of this book will chill you when you realize that it was written a year ago.

Subversion traced to whitehouse.gov.......2004-10-22

There have been quite a lot of books this year attempting to breach the Bush battlements, but this one, by its calm and meticulous depiction and documentation, does the job in low key but chilling fashion. No screaming salvos, simply a quiet indictment that adds up by the end of the book to a funereal snapshot of the stealth right, the Bush agenda in the shadows, and the peril for the future given the current conservative momentum. The effect is made steady handed by the depth of the authors experience in government, and the result is a verdict, more than an Op Ed soundbite attack. One of the best of the bunch, and a good antidote to such other similarly themed books such as The Right Nation.

Read this book and you won't vote for Bush.......2004-10-09

If you're tired of books that make accusations without presenting proof, then this is the book for you. Tiefer provides an in-depth analysis of the subversive nature and the Bush administration and especially John Ashcroft - attacks on the reproductive choices of women and the subjugation of our 4th amendment rights to name two of the issues addressed in the book. The implications of this book are chilling and I believe any intelligent person who reads it can't do anything but vote against Bush on November 2nd.

Book Description

In fall 1995 leading academics joined politicians, entrepreneurs, union leaders, and other civic leaders at the University of Notre Dame to discuss the present and emerging challenges in resolving issues of poverty and inequality in Latin America. The resulting multidisciplinary approach integrated good analytical work with sound advice in the hope that new policies can provide more effective answers to both new and chronic questions.

"This is an important volume, with significant implications for regional policy makers, comparative policy analysts, and would-be organizers of the laboring and marginalized poor." --Political Studies

". . . The best book available on poverty and inequality in the new era of neoliberalism in Latin America." --Political Science Quaterly

"This collection explores strategies such as job creation and reconstructing, sensitivity to new problems, and development of a more flexible work force. The contributors call for a redefinition of roles and regulations, and for redesigning the current social order." --Abstracts of Public Administration, Development, and Environment

Book Description

Why, with a majority of women on the planet, is it still a man's world? I'm Not A Feminist, But... astutely and wittily delves into the world of the sexes. This book probes into our conscience's underbelly with over 100 funny yet stimulating questions, such as: Why are the only two fields in which women can out-earn men modeling and prostitution?; Why, when it's women who account for two-thirds of the world's work hours, is it men who mostly "work late" at the office?; If men are more capable than women, why can't they perform simple household chores?; Why is cooking "women's wokr" when the world's most celebrated chefs are men?; If men lived longer than women, would senior citizens get a better deal from the government?; Why do we say older women look great for their age only when they don't look their age? Comical graphics accompany each query, making I'm Not A Feminist, But ... a humorous, thought-provoking must-read for women of all ages.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed .......2007-01-20

First page I flipped to read, "Why do women w/ low esteem cut themselves when a cosmetic surgeon can do it for them?" or "If men thought God was a woman, would they still die and kill for Her?" I bought this book for friends deployed to Iraq needing comic relief but instead its attempts too much 'thought provoking' why's ... not appropriate for where I'm sending it and just not a fun book to read overall.

okay, but a little extreme.......2005-03-08

I definitely consider myself a feminist, but this book crossed the line on a few items that bordered on being a little sexist. However, some excellent points were made, it makes you think, and it's a cute, fast, easy read.

Surprisingly good!.......2003-12-16

I picked up this book at a friend's house. It took fifteen minutes to read. Yet it turned a couple of ideas I had about the way things are on their head. And it made me laugh several times. And it made me want to read it again. I'm a guy, but... why isn't there more stuff like this out there?

Average customer rating:

I'M NOT A FEMINIST BUT...
Christine Roche
Manufacturer: Virago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0860686043

Average customer rating:

I'm Not A Feminist But.... -
Christine Roche -
Manufacturer: Virago Publishing -
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O6CAWQ

I'm not a women's libber, but-- and other confessions of a Christian feminist

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I'm not a women's libber, but-- and other confessions of a Christian feminist
Anne Bowen Follis
Manufacturer: Abingdon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

This Companion gives a comprehensive view of the German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-97). Twelve chapters by leading scholars and musicians provide systematic coverage of the composer's life and works. Their essays represent the latest research and reflect changing attitudes toward a composer whose public image has long been out of date. The volume as a whole is an important addition to Brahms scholarship and provides indispensable information for all students and enthusiasts of Brahms's music.

Average customer rating:

The Cambridge Companion to Brahms
Michael (Edt) Musgrave
Manufacturer: Cambridge Univ Pr 01/1//1999
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N5WJ6U

Book Description

France's performance in the 2002 World Cup brought back painful memories of a time when France was a weak contender in world and European football - a time when national or club teams rarely won, and the French were renowned for having little interest in the game. Today, football plays a unique role in French society. French players and coaches are highly sought after abroad and the national team has chalked up significant recent victories, including a World Cup and European Championship. This book is the first in English to examine the extraordinary cultural, economic, and political history behind French football's development throughout the twentieth century and up to the present day. It focuses on the past twenty years and concludes with a discussion of the fallout from the World Cup 2002. Imported from Britain by the middle classes in the late nineteenth century, football entered French national consciousness between the wars. As with everywhere else in Europe, the game helped to unite communities and forge new social identities. Although the State has generously supported youth coaching, the evolution of the professional sport has been slow due to tight community control, high taxes and lack of income from paying spectators. In a bid to compete successfully in Europe, the owners of France's big city clubs are seeking to commercialize the game, despite the resistance of central and local authorities. Hare traces the gradual evolution of traditional French football values and explores the impact of new and controversial business practices. Have French football's influential club chairmen sold out to business values and television? Why has the national team been so successful when club teams have not? How are top clubs being re-branded to catch a national and international audience of consumers? What role does the modern supporter play, and what are the links between businessmen, politics and the commercialization of the sport? What is peculiarly French about French football, and what does football tell us about France? Hare also pays specific attention to issues relating to race and racism. He looks at racist attitudes among fans, and considers how the multi-cultural and multi-racial population of France is reflected in the national football team. This book not only provides a fascinating cultural history of French football, but also an engrossing account of how national identity and community values are being transformed and reshaped in the global marketplace.

French Rugby Football: A Cultural History

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French Rugby Football: A Cultural History
Philip Dine
Manufacturer: Berg Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1859733271

Book Description

As France's oldest team sport, rugby football has throughout its 125-year history reflected major changes in French society. This book analyzes for the first time the complex variety of motives that have led the French to adopt and remake this rather unlikely British sport in their own image. A major site for the construction of masculine, class-based regional and national identities, France's tradition of 'Champagne rugby' continues to be as subject to dramatic upheavals as the society that produced it. The game's precocious professionalism and endemic violence have not infrequently caused the French to be cast as international pariahs. Such isolation, exacerbated by internal politics, has led the French not only to encourage the extension of the sport beyond its British imperial base (into Italy and Romania, for instance), but also to engage in some uncomfortable tactical alliances, most obviously with apartheid South Africa.

Taking his analysis both on and off the field, the author tackles these issues and much more: the relationship of sport and the state (including particularly the Vichy period and the period under de Gaulle); professionalization; the persistence of colonial and postcolonial structures (including the role of ethnic minorities); and gender issues - especially masculine identities. At the same time he links the evolution of the sport to the broader context of French socio-economic, political and cultural history.

This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the cultural analysis of sport or French popular culture.

Geoff Hare, Football in France: A Cultural History.(Book Review): An article from: French Politics, Culture and Society

Average customer rating:

Geoff Hare, Football in France: A Cultural History.(Book Review): An article from: French Politics, Culture and Society
Andrei S. Markovits
Manufacturer: Berghahn Books, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Product Description

RUNNING MICROSOFT EXCEL 2000 takes you through the most used tasks and functions of Microsoft?s popular spreadsheet program. Whether you need quick, how-to instructions or in-depth answers to more advanced questions, this one-stop reference has the answer

Amazon.com

Whether you've upgraded or installed Excel 2000 for the first time, odds are you'll need some inside information to get the spreadsheet application tuned up and ready for data. Microsoft Press has published Running Microsoft Excel 2000 to give you the most complete survey of Excel 2000's capabilities.

It doesn't matter whether you go straight through from beginning to end or just keep it on hand to use for reference, this book's smart, no-nonsense prose will cut to the heart of your spreadsheet problems and get you the solutions you need. Beyond the basics, it covers creating and using worksheets, analyzing data, sharing files with other users and applications, and programming with macros and Visual Basic--everything you'll need until the next upgrade.

The illustrations are good, if a little sparse, but between the clear writing and your own computer monitor, you should be able to tackle every technique in the book. If you use spreadsheets every day, or think you probably should, Running Microsoft Excel 2000 is a must. --Rob Lightner

Customer Reviews:

Needs Improvement.......2002-01-19

This is NOT a book for beginners; if you're new to Microsoft Excel, avoid this book! Even though the back of the book says it's a reference for beginning to advanced users, this book will confuse you if you're a beginner. It's a book for people who already have some knowledge about Excel; I'm in the intermediate to advanced user category, and even I get confused by some of the explanations provided in the book.

The book has lots of text, but it needs more examples and more pictures; I can't really grasp a particular subject on Excel, if there's no picture to show what it's supposed to look like on screen. Some of the subjects aren't explained fully; these areas need more explanations, examples and pictures.

The book gets four stars, because I did learn some things I've never learned before; also, the book's layout is excellent.

Like the one of the reviewers below, I suggest you get the "Microsoft Excel 2000 Learning Kit". The kit contains the "Running Microsoft Excel 2000" book, as well as a "Microsoft Excel 2000 Step by Step Interactive" software. The software in the kit is excellent!

BETTER DEAL.......2000-06-09

I would recommend buying the package (step-by-step interactive cd + this book = $30 cost)

Very complete coverage of Excel.......2000-06-08

Running Excel 2000 provides a very complete look at using Excel in most day to day situations. The general usage information is well structured and each topic is covered in detail.

For me the real value in this book comes from the section on analyzing data. The author discusses the worksheet functions but then delves into common analysis situations. Their coverage of financial analysis discusses all of the different financial functions and how to use each of them. The statistical analysis section talks about each of the different distributions supported and when each should be used. Finally they present a what-if analysis section that shows how to use Excel's solver and scenario manager.

The book even touches on Visual Basic, but only enough to get your feet wet with Excel's macros.

All in all a very good book.. much more than I was expecting from a general "how to use Excel" book.

Great Detail!.......2000-04-20

This book was very helpful to learn advanced formatting techniques, straighten out formulas and other spreadsheet techniques. It was only difficult to follow the macros directions. I would suggest purchasing a beginning book just on that for those with no experience in VBA, because if you're a beginner, like me, then you will probably get frustrated. Other than that, I found the book to be thorough, clear and concise.

A solid reference on Excel 2000!.......2000-03-25

This book is a solid reference and guidance to Excel 2000 users. The authors have clear thoughts through the book, their instructions are clear and simple. It resolves most of the puzzles and questions you have, while introducing new functions. Seems like, it is designed for experienced Excel users. If you are new to Excel, you'd better read "Excel 200, Step by Step" instead. Strongly recommended! Will not waste your time and money.

Average customer rating:

Very difficult to follow and some pages are misprinted
Big Fat Book, but
Running Microsoft Office 2000
Typical Microsoft
Complete Waste of Trees and Money!

Running Microsoft Office 2000 Premium
Michael Halvorson , and Michael Young
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1572319453

Amazon.com

If you've paid for Office 2000 Premium, the top-of-the-line version of Microsoft's productivity suite, you owe it to yourself to have a complete software reference on hand. Running Microsoft Office 2000 Premium includes exactly the sort of detailed how-to information you need on each application's features and tools. It's a great choice for individuals and businesses that live and die by their Office 2000 skills.

Running Microsoft Office 2000 Premium takes the classic approach of comprehensive Office books--it tackles the applications one at a time and explains each application's functions and capabilities using stepped procedures along the way. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, Publisher, FrontPage, and PhotoDraw each get a turn in the spotlight. The authors explain the basics of each application before working up to its specialized features. You'll also find a bit about the Small Business Tools and coverage of multiapplication tasks like creating a compound document or using Binder to hold multiple files together for easy management.

While it covers basic facts and skills, you'll also find advanced user information in Running Microsoft Office 2000 Premium. The authors include an introduction to macro-writing that sheds light on some of the most useful features of Visual Basic for Applications. --David Wall

Book Description

RUNNING MICROSOFT OFFICE 2000 PREMIUM is a reference that takes readers through the Office Premium Suite: Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint(r), Outlook(tm), Internet Explorer, Access, Small Business Tools, Publisher, Microsoft FrontPage(r) and PhotoDraw(tm). The Running series is designed to be easy-to-use, with a friendly, open design, featuring copious screen shots, call-outs, cross-references, and tips. The new generation, Running series, is more in-depth than ever before!

Customer Reviews:

Very difficult to follow and some pages are misprinted.......2004-07-09

Running Microsoft Office 2000 Professional has a nice book cover that is for sure, but I made a mistake in buying this book. First, the contents are very difficult to following because it has lot of information that is repeated over and over. Second, in Outlook there are some misprinted pages - got pages of Access in there. What was the publisher doing??? Obviously didn't pay much attention to proofread this book nor give it at least a once over. The only thing this book is good for is to use as a very heavy and expensive paper weight. If you want a good book, I suggest "Teach Yourself Visually Microsoft Office 2000" by Ruth Maran OR "Master Microsoft Office 2000 Visually" by Ruth Maran and Paul Whitehead. These books will at least get you started in getting familiar with using the programs. And then when you are passed the beginners level, you can look for other books that cover each program more in depth.

Big Fat Book, but.......2004-07-06

I bought this book because I thought since it is from Microsoft Press publishing their own materials on the programs the company itself designed, I thought it would be easier to read and use and quicker to learn the programs, but that was not the case. This book was dry as hell, with lots of useless jargon. Some of the materials are very repetitve just to make the book larger and look valuable. Even highlighting it did not help to retain the information. For anyone who wants to master the programs, you need to find other books. For beginners, the visual books with pictures are fun and quick to learn. For the intermediate to more advance people, check out other books. Too bad cannot rate this big fat useless book with a zero, if I could, I would. Even rate it in the negative integers.

Running Microsoft Office 2000.......2003-04-11

I am surprised that no one has sent in a review for this text. These two guys write the flagship instruction text for Microsoft Office, and have been doing it successfully for years. You can't beat them for a fun, clear, information. I have written many a manual in my day, and these guys are some of the best around. This book is especially useful if you are getting ready for a testing job interview and need to brush up on some of the things you don't use every day.

Typical Microsoft.......1999-09-09

After having this book for only one day, I gave up and returned it. There are numerous editing errors throughout. For instance, In the middle of the Outlook 2000 section, some color-coded guide tabs and page headings read "Access 2000".

Also, the index refers to wrong or misplaced pages. Further searching reveals particular index entries are nowhere to be found. Clearly rushed to press without much editing or forethought. Office 2000 "Professional"? Hardly.

Complete Waste of Trees and Money!.......1999-08-28

This book contained neither detailed nor summary information on either of the two progams I was using: Word and Front Page. It is not targeted at beginners or advanced users. Instead it is a hodge podge of topics; most of them irrelevant to what I wanted to do. Even though the book is physically huge it covers very little in total because there are so many programs involved.

As context I have been using Word and Front Page since their very early versions. In Word I was simply trying to figure out why things were being formatted in such a strange way (I know--futile). For Front Page I was looking for an introduction to the new features and new interface.

Save your money unless you need a colorful doorstop.

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