REVIEW: INTERNET SECRETS by John R Levine & Carol Baroudi   IDG BOOKS  1995

Here's an "everything you wanted to know about the Internet" books from
seasoned Net writers and teachers John Levine and Carol Baroudi (authors of 
THE INTERNET FOR DUMMIES).  Here's almost a thousand pages that are filled
with countless hints, tips and tricks on every imaginable aspect of the Net
(and some you can't imagine either).  The table of contents alone takes 28
pages to just list!  The lineup of more than 40 Internet "experts" who 
contributed material to INTERNET SECRETS is very impressive as well.

Inside you will find essays about the Net, its culture and folklore and 
USENET.  In addition, there are chapters on security and privacy, Net
access for people with disabilities and even one on "smileys".  

INTERNET SECRETS provides a lot of information on the technical aspects,
such as explaining the DNS (Domain Name System) in detail as well as
in depth coverage of the various ways to connect to the net, including
chapters for MAC users with one devoted to helping them get TIA up and
running.  There's also a chapter for OS/2 Warp users too.

Some of the other topics covered include information for those who have
e-mail only access, finding things on the Net, IRC, World Wide Web, Gopher
secrets,  WAIS,  managing e-mail,  Network News, and even subjects as
specialized as supporting non-English characters in Internet Applications!

Finally, there are several chapters on becoming an information provider,
and the "best" Internet, WinSock and Macintosh applications.  

The two diskettes included contain WinZIP, WinCode, a directory of over
400 mailing lists and 6,100 LISTSERV lists and a lot more.

This is definitely NOT a "newbie" book - in fact some of it was way over
my head.  However, I found that it has something for just about every
level of user competency and experience.  The writing styles were varied
due to the large number of contributors, and in my opinion, at times tended
to become extremely specialized and focused.  Editors Levine and Baroudi did
a fine job of putting all this diverse information together in this immense
volume.  If you aspire to Net Power User status, this book is definitely
the way to achieve it. 

%T      Internet Secrets
%A      John R Levine & Carol Baroudi
%I      IDG Books
%C      Foster City California
%D      1995
%O      $39.99 US, $54.99 Canada.  Comes with 2 diskettes
%G      ISBN: 1-56884-452-2 
%P      987 pages, paperbound
%K      Internet, computer networks


(C) 1995
Michael Crestohl
Nahant Massachusetts  USA
mc@shore.net

DISCLAIMER:  I have no interest, financial or otherwise, in the success or 
failure of the book or materials reviewed herewith, nor have I received any 
compensation (other than a review copy requested by me) from anyone who has.  
All opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Other Internet and Aviation book/software reviews by me can be obtained 
by anonymous FTP from:  x2ftp.oulu.fi in the /pub/books/crestohl directory.