BKRIDINT.RVW 940204 New Riders Publishing 201 W. 103rd Street Indianapolis, IN 46290 phyllis@prenhall.com 70621.2737@CompuServe.COM Alan Apt Beth Mullen-Hespe beth_hespe@prenhall.com "Riding the Internet Highway", Fisher, 1993, 1-56205-192-X, U$16.95/C$21.95 slf@netcom.com Fisher shows admirable restraint in limiting the scope of this book. Where others try to produce "complete" documentation for the "whole" Internet, Fisher flatly states (correctly) that this is impossible. Where others try to take you "from the modem up," Fisher suggests you get some basic experience with local bulletin boards. The intent is to give desktop (PC and Mac) users some basic grounding in Internet functions and tools. As such, the book is much less imposing than most of the others of this ilk. (Cheaper, too.) The emphasis on the micro computer is followed through in the material covered. Like a number of other guides, some very basic UNIX background is given. It is clear, though, that the expectation is that the UNIX box is not on your desk, but a remote system on which you have an account. When discussing ftp, readers are reminded that they still need to download from the local host to their own desktop. Although I appreciate the limitation of the information contained herein, at times things are kept just slightly too terse. The very important tip about not sending subscription and signoff requests to the mailing list, itself, is here but the material isn't completely explicit about what *is* the correct procedure. Readers are told that ftp.misc.sri.com has a list of mailing lists; they aren't told the file name or directory. (Ironically, thirty-three pages later an ftp screen is used from that very directory--although it doesn't list the interest-groups file.) One other regrettable shortcoming is the limited discussion of mail servers. Although Fisher obviously feels local service providers are the answer, for many users online commercial service vendors may be the only realistic answer, and these are often limited to email access. Some topics may appear fragmented, since the book is organized by application rather than function. Finger and whois are discussed under "Finding Information" rather than under email. Fisher's discussion of the distinctives of Usenet is very good--but news *could* be discussed alongside mailing lists. For the majority of new users, however, this is a good, basic introduction. What shortcomings there are in specific information can be quickly filled in once a user has gotten onto the net. The very personal style here probably more than makes up for any other lacks--the Internet is primarily other people, not technologies. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKRIDINT.RVW 940204