Book Review

I first met Robin Williams when she taught a typography class at a Mac Expo in the early 1990s. She was already a noted expert on things Macintosh, and she used her charming, humorous personality to punctuate the class like she was the personification of an eclectic typestyle. Her rapport with the class was instantaneous. Her command of the topic was obvious. And her love of the things that could be done with typography on a Mac was simply contagious. At the end of the 3-hour class, she was mobbed with eager questioners and occasionally poked by a pen held by one of the many autograph seekers. She took it all in stride, smiling as she grabbed the brass ring of fame and fortune.

Robin Williams, that phenomenal teacher, composed the most respected basic Mac book in the world. With more than a million copies in print, The Little Mac Book is a must-have for newcomers and a sound reference book for Mac veterans. It is written in the same style and with the same subject command that I witnessed in that class so long ago. Robin is simply a Master Teacher, who warns that the Mac is addictive and then gives instructions on how to deepen the addiction. Not bad for a single mom who, as her sister claims, "can have fun in a paper bag."

As I put the second edition from my library down on the table beside the seventh edition, I discovered that in the ten years between those two editions the book has more than doubled in size-from 176 pages to a whoppin' 447 pages. It's not that the Mac is more difficult to use now; it's just there's so much more to offer in the Mac. A good reference book just needs to expand to be complete. And Robin acknowledges that growth in her typically humorous way on the title page. "I know, I know," she writes in a tiny, handwritten script near the bold title, "the book's not so little anymore. Neither is the Mac."

So the user is clued in from the front of the book that this will be a friendly book, one that puts a real person behind the words, and who just might understand what's in the back of the reader's mind as he begins to turn the pages. Robin senses the needs and puts anxiety to rest in the first words of the "Read Me First" area as she sets the tone for future pages of the book. "If you're intimidated or in a hurry," she writes, "use the tutorial that starts on page 15. Then shut the book and move on. Skip this part. Skip the rest of the book. Come back later if you get in trouble." And she means it!

The Little Mac Book is not a book that is to be read in one sitting, or even many sittings. In fact it is to be read in spurts. Use it enough to get up and running, she implores. Then use it as a reference. Get involved in a chapter and then use the quiz at the end as a test of learning-an open book test-so you can really learn and retain the learning. Robin understands that spaced repetition and self-testing in a stress-free environment are ways to promote efficient learning. Couple those ideas with the illustrations using her pet, Ratz, and it's clear why this book is translated into 13 languages.

In the end of the book, there's "Extra Stuff" like "What's a Port? An expansion slot? And how do you use them?" Then there's "Tips and More Tips" with pages listed if you want more information on that tip. Then there's "Aaack!! HELP!" a catastrophe reference list that everyone hopes to avoid but someday experiences. And if all that is not enough, there's the "Addendum," a few extra features that are new and specific to Mac OS 9 and 9.1. And finally, yes finally, there's the "Index," so extensive and helpful it must have been written by Ratz so that no reader could find a hole in the cheese... uh, I mean book.

So add this preventive medicine to your Mac library and pull it out when you're frustrated by "geek speak" terms. And when you finally upgrade to OS X, you can be sure Robin will be there to guide you through with a new Edition. After all, she's addicted.