Customer Reviews

Your Official Grown-up's Guide to AOLŪ and the Internet

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Reviewer: Paul Gerstenbluth (ariefound@aol.com)

Review: Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet, IDG Books Worldwide

Give me a Ticket to Ride on. The Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet is your destination ticket to a rewarding online experience. America Online makes it easy to arrive online, but what do you do once you get there?

Open Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet and find the road signs to:

* Travel and navigate AOL and the Web using links, browsers, and search engines

* Stay in touch with family and friends with AOL email and learn about Instant Messaging and Buddy Lists; and

* Explore popular topics online including travel, money, health, hobbies, retirement, research, and genealogy.

Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet's Contents at a Glance:

Pro Reaction

Book font is 14 points for easy reading. Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet pages are loaded with tips, definitions, cross-references and notes. Also, there are dictionary type thumb indexes through-out the 15 chapters for finding information quickly.

CD-ROM contains America Online version 3.0 and 4.0 for the Macintosh. Also, it contains for PC users' 5.0 for Windows.

Con Reaction

Missing from CD-ROM is Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator for Macintosh users. Utility shareware such as Always Online should have been included on the CD. Also, missing is summary of index of Websites mentioned in the book.

End Notes

The Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet is an easy-to-use traveler's guide, written specifically for adults 50 and older. It shows you step-by-step how to use the Internet to enhance your daily life.

The book also shows you how to find invaluable resources and services such as e-mail, travel planning, hobbies, health and money management, and retirement tips.

Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet simplifies and defines the lingo, walks you through the basics, and points you to online destinations and activities.

=== Paul Gerstenbluth is President of the ARIE Foundation. The ARIE Foundation's mission is to provide VA hospitalized patients with hobby materials and computers that helps in their stay and recovery.

As a youngster, I had neither the opportunity nor the time for computers. When I was in school, there certainly was no technical education or exposure to computer use; even during my working career I had no chance to learn about desktops or the Internet. So now I am considered "of the senior generation." The usual scenario is that you have either the opportunity or the time, not both. But lucky me, I am enjoying the time and the opportunity to take on the computer world. Guess what, I got a computer and bought a copy of this new book, Your Official Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet, and have entered a whole new experience. This is a great time to be a part of the 50+ generation. And Sandy Berger has been such help. With her easy to understand book, Your Official Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet, I have been able to find my way and my confidence in the world of AOL and the Internet. I felt like she wrote her book specifically for me! With my computer, my time, and Sandy's book, I am on my e-way.

I love this book. I am 66 and just bought my first computer three months ago. This book, along with America Online Simplified, is my bible. It is so easy to understand and so complete. I will continue learning from it.

I did not have any computer experience. I was not fortunate to be exposed to computers during my schooling. I felt like I could learn to use the computer and found this book to be the perfect tool to help me.

I read the paragraph by Horrace Deets, AARP's top guy, and agree that Sandy Berger can help you get the most out of your computer experience. I feel like I am making up for no computer experience and will have plenty of computer fun in the future.

I found out you don't have to be described as a "Grown-up" to enjoy this book. My parents are enjoying it but they are o.k. with the description "grown-up"; I don't think it fits me. Still I found the information in Sandy Berger's Your Official Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet right on the mark for what I needed to know about computers. And I am only 27. So I guess it doesn't matter where useful information comes from as long as it is helpful.

I can only take one little challenge at a time. So far Sandy Berger's book has helped me with e-mail and finding and organizing things. Those two chapters are my favorite chapters. The reward for working hard to understand attachments with Sandy's help is being able to receive pictures of all four grandkids that are scattered around the country. This book opened that door for me. I look forward to tackling other chapters and learning other skills.

I have been one of those frantic neophytes in a Grown-up hurry to speak the language of the world -- Computorese -- and now Sandy Berger's book has given me the key, the courage, and the confidence for success. I'm well on my way to fluent communication! This is a superb book: I've ordered five more copies from Amazon to be sent poste-haste to fellow-strugglers, and I will continue to order (or, let's be sensible: recommend) a copy of this excellent Guide each time I hear that familiar wail of near despair. Now, instead of a pitiful "I want my Mommy!", I say cheerfully, "I need my Sandy Berger!"

The non-threatening basics offered in Sandy Berger's new book, Your Official Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet, are great. I have read the chapters on e-mail, chatting, and navigating AOL and the Internet and think I have developed a good understanding and foundation. But what I am so appreciative of, thanks to Sandy, are the great directional signs to treasures on AOL and the Internet. It would take me years to find such good information. My favorite chapter is Genealogy. Up until I bought a computer and found Sandy's help, I was able to document only three generations of my family tree. Genealogy and developing my ancestral history has become my favorite activity. The computer is the perfect tool with its specialized links to tackle centuries of history. So not only have I tackled and enjoyed the computer world but that accomplishment has also led me to take on genealogy as well.

As a caring son, I purchased a new computer and this new book, Your Official Grown-up's Guide to AOL and the Internet, for my mom's birthday. After helping hook up the new hardware and getting Mom online, we opened Sandy Berger's book for help. The two of us poured over that book, and can you believe it? She would not let me take it home. Although the target of the book is helping seniors get acclimated to the online world, this 30-something, computer-experienced son loved the book's approach and all the easy-to-understand information it contained. You guessed it; I had to buy a second copy of Sandy Berger's book. But mission accomplished: Mom e-mails me everyday and loves all the gardening information she gets online. Both she and I reach for Sandy's guide when we need help with AOL or the Internet.

Looking ahead, I can't wait to get involved in the travel and garding sections. But I have to continue to go slow. Sandy is a good teacher. She takes it easy on me with short and simple explanations, nothing technical. AOL is great; because of the book I learned how to get the news and my own weather everyday. I am recommending the computer and Sandy's book to all my friends.