[Tugindia] REVIEW: Not So Short Introductin to LaTeX2e, The

[Frederick Noronha (FN)]

REVIEW at: http://www.theassayer.org/cgi-bin/asbook.cgi?book=155

BOOK available at: http://ee-staff.ethz.ch/~oetiker/ (copylefted)

Short, sweet, and to the point
by Ben Crowell (crowell05 at stopspam.lightandmatter.com (change 05 to current 
year)) on 2001-01-12 18:30:04, review #98

http://www.lightandmatter.com
content better than 80%
writing better than 80%

The subtitle of this sweet little book is "or LaTeX2e in 87 minutes," but it 
only took me about 30 minutes to read. I've been a conscientious objector to 
LaTeX ever since grad school, and I find that if I ever need to liven up a 
Slashdot discussion, I can always generate a few flames with a remark about how 
LaTeX would only seem advanced to you if you were used to turning in your work 
to the Computer Priests on punched cards. Nevertheless, a tool is just a tool, 
and sometimes even a silly old-fashioned tool is the right tool for the job. I 
appreciated how Oetiker took the time to explain why LaTeX is the way it is, 
and did it with a bit of dry humor, without taking it too seriously.

The book gets right down to business, and explains things clearly. Not only 
does it explain how to do things, it explains why they should be done a certain 
way. I'd first had to learn to deal with LaTeX because the physics journals I 
submitted to wouldn't take any other electronic format, but I'd never really 
learned LaTeX from the ground up. Since then, I've learned a lot about book 
design both by reading books and from the experience of laying out my own 
physics textbooks with WYSIWYG software. Although I was a student with a Bad 
Attitude, I found myself nodding sympathetically as Prof. Oetiker explained 
what good print design is and how LaTeX encourages it.

As befits a book about how to make beautiful publications, this is a 
beautifully done book. I didn't notice a single typo, and although the authors 
apparently aren't native English speakers, the text is nearly always idiomatic 
is graceful.

Information wants to be free, so make some free information.

The above review is copyrighted by its author, and is copylefted under the 
following license:
Open Publication License 1.0 without options A or B

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Frederick Noronha (FN)                    Nr Convent Saligao 403511 GoaIndia
Freelance Journalist                      P: 832-2409490 M: 9822122436
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