Rating: 

This is a book you can take to a coffeehouse to read even without the computer program in front of you for reference. The writing style is relaxed, clearly laid out, and substantive. It isn't laugh-out-loud funny like David Pogue's writing (the creator of this series), but it has moments of humor and,, most important, has that perspective of taking all things with some humor. It covers everything you want it to cover - all the nuts and bolts how-tos of all the areas of Appleworks. Additionally, the authors anticipate what our problems are likely to be....and answer them so I can understand. (Right off, I found the answer to a problem I've had printing out spreadsheets; thank you, thank you). I found the layout to be easy on the eyes and on the mind - I could find what I needed easily. There is a thorough section on installation and upgrade scenarios - which I find most valuable. And there is an excellent troubleshooting section. The authors deal honestly with the problems that Appleworks6 frist presented - its strengths and weaknesses, what was flawed and what was fixed, what was lost, and what is gained. Their honesty, which makes them credible, coupled with their knowledge gave me the info I needed to decide whether this was the right application for my needs. Here is the advantage of buying a manual not written by the manufacturer.

Finally, a womderful dimension to this book, which truly delightes me, is how strongly the vision of possibilities comes across, of how to take this application beyond how I've previously used word processing and spreadsheets programs, to be more creative, more time efficient, more cost efficent, to ways I hadn't thought of or known of...this is exciting stuff and makes the book feel like a two parter - first the part where you master the how-to-use-this-program part and then the mind-expanding-fun-part of "wow, what you can do with this you are only just beginning to know." This is one good manual!