Book details of 'Zen and the Art of the Internet: A Beginner's Guide (Prentice Hall Series in Innovative Technology)'

Title	Zen and the Art of the Internet: A Beginner's Guide (Prentice Hall Series in Innovative Technology)
Author(s)	Brendan P. Kehoe
ISBN	0134529146
Language	English
Published	January 1996
Publisher	Prentice Hall

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The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'Zen and the Art of the Internet: A Beginner's Guide (Prentice Hall Series in Innovative Technology)':

Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
"Zen" is, itself, one of the very widely known and highly regarded resources on the net. It was also the first introductory guide to the Internet published in popular book form. It is slightly larger (physically, due to a larger typeface in this edition) than it was, but is still my most highly recommended book for Internet newcomers. Kehoe has done a marvelous job of presenting the essentials, plus a few interesting tidbits, while holding off from reproducing reams of resources from those already available on the net, itself. I should, having given these accolades, admit to a decided bias: this is my type of book. Those who are not happy with concepts and only wish to know what button to press may find the book frustrating. Mail, ftp, news, telnet and a number of other tools are covered, but Kehoe does not reproduce, wholesale, help screens from elm and tin. Since the specific programs you will use all have help features, Kehoe evidently does not feel the need to waste paper explaining how to use a program that you may not, indeed, need to use. I agree, and it is refreshing to see at least one Internet guide which gives clear explanations of the essence of the Internet tools without having to fill space with specifics which you will be able to get from the programs themselves. (In response to the draft of an earlier review, Kehoe stated that Internet providers should be also providing documentation for any system specific features. He also mused on the bewilderment newcomers must feel when confronted with a shelf full of 400 to 800 page guides for a system whose basics are supposedly fairly simple. Again I concur.) Probably for the same reason, Kehoe does not reproduce an annotated, or even expurgated, .newsrc file or "list of lists." Some may say that this is a lack on the part of the book and that it is less interesting for not providing such a directory. These resources are, however, readily accessible on the net (Kehoe tells you where to find them) and cannot, in book form, be anything more than an outdated and possibly misleading first indicator. Two "lists" which Kehoe *does* provide are of ftp and telnet sites. Such sites are harder to find, and these lists are quite useful. With this fourth edition, Kehoe has added some World Wide Web material, including HTML. In twelve pages (plus a handy reference card), he manages to provide enough information for neophytes to start building their own Web pages. There is, of course, nothing wrong with the large guides with all of their lengthy references. As the same time, most newcomers will want a gentler, smaller introduction, rather than being dumped into a vat of data. For those to whom the sound of few pages flipping is as music, this is definitely your book. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994
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