A great book, with universal appeal

Amazon rating: *****

To successfully write a book so that a completely new internet user and an advanced IT veteran will both learn new skills about how the internet works and how to ‘work’ the internet requires not only an advanced knowledge base, but also a clear and explanatory writing style; where many books of this kind fail. Often similar books are information-heavy and dry; boring the academics and bewildering the amateurs.

But fortunately, this book makes none of these mistakes. The author injects an individual (but very well informed) writing style, that is humorous without being irreverent, informative without being dull, and perhaps most importantly, explanatory without being patronising. Explanations and real-life examples are used throughout to illustrate points clearly, which I personally found very useful. After a guideline is stated the reasoning behind the ‘rule’ is then fully explained, which if, like me, you have a naturally questioning mind, will help considerably. Often these guiding principles are based on common sense, politeness and practicality, transferred from everyday life to internet usage. I thought this idea worked consistently well throughout the book, and set it apart from other internet books. Indeed, this is not so much a ‘how to’ internet book, but a ‘how to’, ‘why’, and ‘oh I see, it's obvious now’ internet book, with some suggested principles to improve your internet credentials thrown in on top.

The book is well organised into easy to use chapters covering different aspects of the web (e-mail etiquette, blogs, forums etc), and the writing style and layout means, for me at least, that it was very easy and fun to just pick up and browse when I had a spare minute. I think that the book has definitely had a lasting impact on the way I view and use the internet; one example amongst many being that I now feel much more comfortable in writing formal and informal e-mails.

I would definitely recommend this book for practically any level of internet competence, from absolute beginner to professional; there is something to benefit everyone.

P. A. McEntee
Reviewed on Amazon.co.uk