Book Reviews: Serials
January 1997
This book review is a philosophical comment rather than a specific review of particular books. We hope you'll find it useful.
Over the years, as an avid reader, I find myself looking forward to books by certain writers. Some of them are annual gifts, offering a new book like clockwork, every year. Many of my favorite mystery writers are like that. Others, who depend on scholarly research or complex and lengthy plots may require many years. In that case, each of their books is a long awaited special treat.
I've discovered that computer books have similarities to more literary offerings. Some authors and publishers are very reliable. In certain subject areas they can be counted on to cover every release of every important product and to do it right away; moreover, they do it with the cooperation of the vendors involved, so the details are rich and accurate. I've come to trust them and when I'm looking for a book in a new area (new to me or altogether new technology), I tend to check to see whether one of these old friends has taken it on.
We're particularly fond of the Windows Secrets series for anything pertaining to Windows, the O'Reilly series for anything pertaining to the Internet or Internet-related application development, and the Dummies series for anything where we want a quick, easy-to-access (but not necessarily very detailed) reference. Knowing how to pick books on applications and systems software is important, because it's a rare software product that comes with such excellent documentation that you won't need to buy at least one third-party book to supplement what comes in the box. You can tell important software products by the number of books they attract.
When it comes to business books, as opposed to technology books, it's much harder. We're more inclined to pick by the writer and his affiliations -- or, frankly, by how much we care about the topic. So we'll suffer bad writing to read about how Bill Gates performs his magic tricks, but we'll require something much more readable about an obscure company or a new management concept. We don't much care for the pop management consulting Book of the Year stuff, but confess to reading it to be able to hold our own in conversation. We love to note some competitor using seven catch phrases from a book he just read in one ten minute conversation!
Lastly, if the book's on a new and important technical topic, nothing beats the acknowledged expert -- if he can write in an accessible way. Reading Grady Booch on Object Design or Michael Hammer, Jim Champy or Tom Davenport on Business Process Re-engineering is worth the effort.
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Entire contents © 1997 by Amy D. Wohl. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden.