Mac is not a typewriter, The (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Robin Williams (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201782634 | ISBN-13: 978-0201782639 | Publication Date: May 1, 2003 | Edition: 2

One of the most popular Macintosh books ever written, The Mac is not a typewriter has been called the "Strunk and White of typography." Best-selling author Robin Williams's simple, logical principles for using type to produce beautiful, professional documents are as true now as they were when the original edition was published in 1989. This updated edition includes new examples and expanded information dedicated to the practical advice that made the first edition an enduring bestseller. Throughout, Robin shows you the small details that separate the pros from the amateurs: typographer versus typewriter quotation marks, en and em dashes, tabs and indents, kerning, leading, white space, widows and orphans, and hanging punctuation. If you prepare documents, you'll find The Mac is not a typewriter, Second Edition an indispensable guide. And those who read your documents will recognize the work of a pro, even if they don't know a curly quote from curly fries.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- Using 19 short lessons, this concise, simple style manual directs a Macintosh user on how to produce professional quality manuscripts. Punctuation and grammar hints are coupled with instructions for manipulating the Mac to the writer's advantage. It is aimed at desktop publishers as well as novice writers seeking a polished look for term papers.

Copyright 1991 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

One of the most popular Macintosh books ever published, The Mac is Not a Typewriter has been referred to as the "Strunk and White of typography." The revised edition continues in the tradition of the original by providing simple, logical principles for using type to produce beautiful, professional documents. It's updated to include a revised chapter on fonts and also reflects changes in software and hardware since the original edition published in 1990. Some topics include: real vs. generic quotation marks, en and em dashes, tabs and indents, kerning, leading, white space, widows and orphans, and hanging punctuation. Anyone who needs to prepare documents for print will find this guide indispensable. It's a primer that novices can pick up quickly, and that pros can keep going back to.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 2 edition (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201782634
• ISBN-13: 978-0201782639
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Computers & Technology > Hardware > Macs
  • #9 in Books > Computers & Technology > Operating Systems > MacOS
  • #86 in Books > Arts & Photography > Design & Decorative Arts > Graphic Design

More About the Author

Robin Williams is the author of dozens of best-selling and award-winning books, including Robin Williams Mac OS X Book, The Little Mac Book, The Non-Designer's Design Book, Robin Williams Design Workshop, and Web Design Workshop. Through her writing, teaching, and seminars, Robin has influenced a generation of computer users in the areas of design, typography, desktop publishing, the Mac, and the World Wide Web.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Little Gem!, October 23, 2001

By 

Concerned Reader (Anchorage, Alaska, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mac is Not a Typewriter: A Style Manual for Creating Professional-Level Type on Your Macintosh (Paperback)

I started using this book years ago for my own work, and I don't think mine is all that bad! I have been using it as a text (and even its companion volume "The PC is not a Typewriter") for about 9 years in various university-level courses.

I find that the material is highly relevant and well presented. I find it quite easy to discuss how to implement the ideas in our current software, and a quick spell in the computer lab with a real assignment gets the fundamentals into the students' minds. Very few of my students know beforehand the basic rules Williams sets out, and their work does improve as a result of this text. Roll on the revised edition in November, 2001!

Yes, Williams was one of the earliest writers to produce a quality, informative book on this subject for beginners. Yes, the information is available in other places, but this is one of the most compact and well-presented places to find it. Combing through MacWorld and Adobe magazines is not the simplest way of finding the information, and 'Looking Good in Print' is a rather massive alternative source. Yes, the details of individual software packages are dated, but the fundamental ideas are not, and what sort of a teacher would I be if I couldn't figure out how to apply the ideas to our current software.

Finally, at under ..., this is great value. Compare the less well-formatted, self-typeset, C programming standard text by Kernighan and Ritchie, with somewhat more pages and just two editions in 23 years, that is still ..., and see which might be better value. I use and love them both, but have few qualms about using Williams' book as a required text, compared to K&R.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She said it first, February 12, 2000

By 

Lynn Lanning (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mac is Not a Typewriter: A Style Manual for Creating Professional-Level Type on Your Macintosh (Paperback)

The reviewer identified as "sonpraises" says: "What is important for the non professional typist to know (use "smart" quotes, don't space twice after a period, italicize instead of underlining, create a long (em) dash by typing shift + option + -) are widely discussed in other places."

They are widely discussed because Robin Williams brought them to the world's attention with the first edition of this book.

Robin said elsewhere that the Macintosh brought about the greatest revolution in printing since Gutenberg. She was in the forefront of this printing revolution, giving people information once known and used primarily by printers, teaching graphic design and typography to the newly developed industry of desktop publishing.

Some day we won't need Robin's book, because people will have forgotten the conventions used on a typewriter to show emphasis and the limitations of a typewriter's keyboard and mono-spaced type, and their computers will automatically provide smart quotes and em dashes. Until then, The Mac Is Not a Typewriter (and its twin, The PC Is Not a Typewriter) needs to be read and shared.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All your documents will look better because of this book., August 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mac is Not a Typewriter: A Style Manual for Creating Professional-Level Type on Your Macintosh (Paperback)

The information in this particular book is indispensible to ANYONE who prepares documents for print, whether it is a newsletter, a poster, or a simple business letter. Even things as simple as pointing out how to create an em dash will make all your documents look better. Robin Williams has an excellent writing style that lends itself to repeated readings. She has written many books since, many of which elaborate on the points in this book, but this is still the one I recommend to people who want to know more about type. I gave this book to someone who was producing a school newsletter, and the publication went from ransom note to cohesive publication overnight! If I was teaching a "Word Processing 101" course, I'd use this as the textbook.