Date: Tue, 27 Jun 1995 12:11:10 EST
From: "Rob Slade, Social Convener to the Net" <roberts@mukluk.hq.decus.ca>
Subject: "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World Wide Web" by Kent

BKCIGWWW.RVW   950420
 
"The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World Wide Web", Kent, 1995, 1-56761-542-2,
U$16.99/C$23.95/UK#13.95
%A   Peter Kent pkent@lab-press.com
%C   201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN   46290
%D   1995
%G   1-56761-542-2
%I   Alpha Books
%O   U$16.99/C$23.95/UK#13.95 800-858-7674 75141.2102@compuserve.com
%P   370
%S   Complete Idiot's Guide ...
%T   "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World Wide Web"
 
Of the many books currently available on the topic of the World Wide Web, some
specialize in HTML (HyperText Markup Language) explanation, some just enthuse,
and a *lot* specialize in the Mosaic browser.  Most general guides, though,
tend to dedicate the bulk of the pages to various Web sites and presentations. 
(Screen dumps are a very quick way to fill up space.)  Kent doesn't do as much
of this, and uses the space saved to produce the most complete description of
WWW that I have yet reviewed.
 
After the four chapters of general introduction in part one, part two provides
a raft of information on text, graphical, DOS, Windows, Mac, UNIX and other
browsers.  Even W3 by mail gets mentioned.  Part three gives some background on
establishing a dial-up IP connection.  (Familiarity with modem commands and the
Kermit scripting language would be a help.)  The array of client browsers is
presented, with some analysis, in part four, while the actual operation of the
client software (mostly Netscape and InternetWorks) is detailed in part five. 
A quick, but useful, guide to HTML makes up part six.  And, not to be left out,
part seven is a list of W3 sites--and archives for related software.
 
The breadth of scope in the book is at some expense of accuracy, particularly
in terms of browser features.  The desire to be current has led to an annoying
number of "stop press" comments--some run into the paragraphs they are meant to
correct.  Originally, the author seems to have planned to include InternetWorks
with the book.  Some comments would indicate that the developers withdrew
permission at the last minute and that not all references were removed.  Also,
some of the material is a bit disorganized.  The documentation for text
browsers appears in part two, while the operation of graphical browsers is
described in part four.  A combined overview might have contributed to overall
understanding.
 
Still, even with these flaws, I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to
understand, connect to, use, or start providing information on the World Wide
Web.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995   BKCIGWWW.RVW   950420

==============
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