In any case, he and his publisher don't need your single-copy sale. They sell thousands of these books for coursewide use at many schools across the country for use in very elementary courses. They don't care about individual users.

So save your money and buy something else!

18 of 21 found the following review helpful:


Make this book your last choice  Dec 04, 2000
I had the displeasure of using this textbook in my Technical Writing course at the local university. This author lacked depth in his discussions on all the topics. That probably explains the addition of supplemental course material. The examples used in this textbook were acceptable, but I was still left hanging with "what if" questions unanswered. The organization of this book also needs some improvement. On a positive note (yes there is a positive side to this), I found the Appendix very useful as a reference guide, though.

26 of 34 found the following review helpful:


What's new in this 9th Edtion?  Sep 25, 2003 By Aramaki
The answer is nothing. This 9th edition is practically the same as 8th. This author must be the greediest man in the academic circle. Over half of the colleges in US use this book for technical writing, and he's still charging people almost $84 for it. Hasn't he made enough money with the 1st edition already?

17 of 23 found the following review helpful:


Clear-Concise-Simple  Aug 30, 2001 By j.r.smyth
The key to technical writing is best described as clear-concise-simple. The most accurate review of this book is to simply add NOT to each of these goals.It is NOT Clear - NOT Concise - Not Simple. It does boast one quality. It is vastly overpriced.
The writers style is easy to describe. It is very much like those bookshelf size computer manuals that we have all come to know and "love" so well!

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:


Helpful Book - good for students  May 18, 2008 By H. Mathews "HollyK"
Other reviews seem to focus on the fact that the newer edition doesn't have enough "new stuff." The examples are updated, the listed websites are updated, there are several expanded sections. Technical writing isn't like neuroscience or some field that is rapidly expanding, so it's not going to have huge new sections of material. If there is any drawback to the book, it's that it covers EVERYTHING which may be overwhelming if you are just want to pick up a quick reference.

Overall it's a good book particularly if you are using it for a class where you have an instructor who can take you into more depth on each topic. It's not a Stephen King style page turner, but obviously that's not what it's trying to be.

Recommended for savvy readers and students.


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