Customer Reviews

Central Works in Technical Communication

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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When I first read this book four years ago in a graduate-level course in rhetoric and professional communication, I admit that I was out of my depth. I didn't know who any of the writers were and I thought academic journal articles were really tough to read. Now I'm working on a dissertation in professional communication and I've realized that most of the articles in this book are in my reading list and will end up in my literature review. The articles have been reprinted in their entirety and each one is prefaced with a reflection by the author.

If you are teaching a grad-level class in professional communication theory or writing and analyzing professional documents, then this is the book you need.

I'm a graduate student halfway through a Master's program in Technical Communication, and this was a required textbook for one of the program's core classes. I definitely won't be reselling this one; I was surprised at how many articles in the book I had seen referenced elsewhere. While some of the articles are a bit wordy and dense, and are getting a bit dated, I think this book will be an important resource for my future classes. Looking forward to the sequel!

Many of the articles in the collection are becoming dated, but that does not take away their foundational role in the creation and furthering of Tech Comm as a field. I am glad to own the book, and it's price is pretty reasonable considering just how many foundational articles are in here. It's like having 25 of the most important journals all packaged in one book. One of its equally important peer collections, Power and Legitimacy (Vol 1 & 2), is absurdly priced. For a PhD student like me, the high pricing means I'll go seek out PDF copies of those articles. The pricing on Central Works makes it accessible.

There are a few problems with CW, but those are with the actual printing of the book. Problem 1: mediocre binding; at least several of my pages started to fall out, and I treat my book with respect. I expect Oxford to produce solidly bound books, not books that remind me of cheapo Penguin reading copies. Problem 2: the paper should be on a better, heavier stock. The current stock is a bit flimsy, notes/marks easily show through the pages, and it didn't feel solid. For an anthology like this, something that could and SHOULD literally last and serve on a practitioner's as well as an academic's shelf for 10 years, more care needs to be put into the production and binding.

The reflective essays which introduce the articles are useful and interesting in most cases; however, a few authors left me asking, "Why'd you bother if you now disdain your own work?" The TOC and alternative thematic/topical sorting were very useful.

It would be nice if the editors would compile a second volume of more current articles.