Book Reviews: 
Help Getting the Story Straight

by Steve Neville

Technical Writing For Dummies

By Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts

Hungry Minds, 2001

$27.99 CAD

310 pages

ISBN - 0-7645-5308-9

Dummies can be golfers, dummies can be investors, and now dummies can be technical writers. The "Dummies" series, which you either love or hate, now brings us "Technical Writing for Dummies."

If you're familiar with the "Dummies" series then you know exactly what to expect. If not, you'll find that this book is basically a gloss over of Technical Writing. It's a great starting point for the basics on:

• what technical writing is,
• the different types of technical documents,
• and how to become a Technical Writer.

But that's it's just the basics. You'll appreciate it if you need to talk the talk, but can't walk the walk. If, however, you're looking for more meat, you'll need to look elsewhere.

The book is, as all "Dummies" books, attractive and easy to read. It's great if you're looking to enter the field of Technical Writing and want to obtain some introductory information. In that case, I highly recommend spending the money so you can understand what to expect in this career.

If you've been in the field awhile, you should probably skip it. I say probably, because although the content isn't pertinent to experienced communicators, the form is useful. "Dummies" books are wonderfully designed as technical training manuals, and the usability of this series is tremendous. If that doesn't appeal to you, then nothing will. Don't waste your time or money.

The Tech Writer's Survival Guide: A Comprehensive Handbook for Aspiring Technical Writers

By Janet Van Wicklen

Checkmark Books, 2001

$23.95 CAD

269 pages

ISBN - 0-8160-4039-7

"The Tech Writer's Survival Guide" is as its subtitle declares – a comprehensive handbook. There are chapters on what is and how to become a technical writer, chapters on the history of technical writing, and chapters on designing documents, online documentation, graphics, and technical editing. If that's not enough for you, this book shows you how to get a job and advance in your career.

Hopefully, you haven't rushed out to your local bookstore and are still reading, because this book is at best ho-hum. It touches on everything above and more, but like "Technical Writing For Dummies," doesn't do any of the topics justice. Unlike its "Dummies" counterpart, however, this book doesn't realize that it's just a generalization. It reads like you can become an expert on technical editing just by reading a 46 page chapter on it.

If this were Tech Writing Idol and I was Simon Cowell, all I can say is, "it's another technical writing book. So what? Sorry." In addition to the problem mentioned previously, it's not well laid out, it's not an easy read, and it's not a great example of technical writing. If I could say one word to describe it, I'd have to say…academic. If you want to learn about the topics in this book, spend the extra money and get separate books on each subject.

Technical Communication: A Reader-Centred Approach, Fifth Ed.

By Paul V. Anderson

Heinle, 2003

$105.50 CAD

647 pages

ISBN - 0-1550-7421-0

This book was required reading for a course I took not too long ago, and I would like to tip my hat to my professor for the recommendation. Hopefully you will agree with me as much as I do with him.

"Technical Communication" is a study on the principles of technical writing. It is focused on understanding your audience and creating projects for them. This book doesn't teach you everything about the technical writing field, but what it does is show you some incredible guidelines on document design, production processes, and editing. A bonus to the book is that you can access the company website to get free supplemental information. Not that you will need it, because "Technical Writing" is very thorough. The topics it covers are extremely informative.

I was extremely pleased with "Technical Communication." Despite its hefty price, it's definitely worth it. The principles are almost universal and apply to various projects. The book is extremely well planned, tremendously user-friendly, and superbly written. For new technical writers, I would say this is a must have. For the experienced writers, I would still highly recommend this as a handy reference book.