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|--- Document Filename = WSBOOKS.ART | published 05/26/85 |  91 lines  5k ---|
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                   WSBOOKS --                       Originally published in
     Comments on two oracular publications.                 ARTICLES
                       by                         The KAY*FOG Online Magazine
                  Byron Davies                           P.O. Box 11135
                                                 San Francisco, CA 94101-7135

Reading Dick Ezzard's review of the Underground WordStar prompted
two responses -- I ordered the book, and I offer these reviews of
two more books whose contents address a similar audience:

"Practical  WordStar Uses," Julie Anne Arca,  Sybex  Inc.,  1983,
price unavailable, and

"Getting  the Most from WordStar and MailMerge," M.  David Stone,
Prentice-Hall Inc., 1984, $14.95.

I  bought the Arca book some time ago to supplement the blue  OCC
manual and the well-known Naiman "Introduction to WordStar" as it
looked to be a cookbook with well-defined procedures to carry out
specific  tasks.   It is that,  but I found many of the tasks too
specific  for  my  purposes,   and  making  them  more  generally
applicable  requires  referring back  to  MicroPro  documentation
(fortunately not OCC's since I upgraded to 3.3) and/or to Naiman.
One  of the reasons that Rombauer's "Joy of Cooking" has remained
popular for so many years is that is is full of flexible  recipes
that  allow  for individual preferences but with descriptions  of
the   likely  consequences  if  the  user  tries  this  or   that
alternative;  Arca  is  more rigid,  and does not  offer  similar
choices.

That format,  of course,  results from an editorial decision, and
is  aimed at the user who doesn't need or want  the  flexibility;
that user will be delighted with the layout of the presentations,
a typical series of headings being:
     Ch 8 Boilerplate Paragraphs
     What is a boilerplate paragraph?
     When to use boilerplate paragraphs
     What you will do (here follow keystrokes and displays)
     How to create a master list of boilerplate paragraphs (more)
     What you just did (recap)
     How  to  use boilerplate paragraphs,  and How  to  customize
     boilerplate paragraphs (each with a recap).

It includes a large poster cheat sheet that I don't have room for
but that others may find helpful.

"Practical  WordStar  Uses" is  practical,  within  limits.   One
serious  limit  for some readers would be its lack of mention  of
dot  commands  and other relatively esoteric  wordStar  features;
before buying it make sure you're part of its addressed audience.

The  Stone book is the other side of the coin;  it addresses  the
experienced  and  perhaps  blase  WordStar  user,   like   Ezzard
describes  himself in his Underground WordStar review  -- is this
the Power User (hateful term!) we've read so much about recently?
All  seriousness aside,  Stone addresses a different  group  than
does Arca.  Some of his chapter headings suggest his approach:

     WordStar's Unsupported Proportional Space Print Feature;
     A Hidden Twist on Two-column Printing;
     Conditional Printing;
     Creating a Data Entry Screen with MailMerge;
     Using WordStar/MailMerge as a Data Base Program;
     Using MailMerge as a Report Generator;

And  so on.   His last chapter on ancillary  programs  critically
discusses  some available spelling checkers,  writing style aids,
and indexers;  his introduction includes an excellent  comparison
of different WS/MM releases.

Some books, like some programs and some people, go "Click!" right
away.   This is one of them. It may be more widely available now,
but for a while Spite Software,  4875 SW 19th Drive,  Portland OR
97201  seemed  to  be the only people who stocked  it,  and  they
couldn't always get it.

And this is an additional unabashed plug for Spite,  while  we're
on  the subject -- any CP/M operator not on their mailing list is
an ostrich.

Byron Davies May 85

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