A good, readable introductory text goes beyond the mere “where it is and what it does” syndrome that is too familiar in computer education. A textbook geared to general computer literacy should answer the question, So why is that important to me? The authors of this revised text have done a good job in this regard. The book integrates the latest microcomputer and peripheral advances, and it is thorough, up to date, and well organized. As a special bonus for students, more complicated concepts such as the machine cycle (pp. 89–93) are presented in a readable, easy-to-understand manner.

The intended audience for this book is students with little or no previous computer experience. The main text is made up of 18 chapters grouped into six major areas of study: “Overview,” “Hardware,” “Software,” “Systems,” “Applications,” and an area called “Implications,” which deals with such issues as privacy and security. A seventh section contains four appendices and a 17-page glossary. The appendices cover number systems and data representation, computer careers, selecting a computer system, and BASIC programming.

The only possible criticism of this text is that it contains so many details that students and instructors can get bogged down or lost in them. For the beginning student, this lack of focus on essential knowledge can defeat the book’s purpose if the instructor lacks an understanding of the objectives of a course in computer literacy. To assist in solving this problem, each chapter begins with a section that gives an outline of the chapter’s contents and a one- or two-sentence synopsis of each topic. Replacing the list of contents with a list of the chapter’s objectives would make this section more effective. The study section at the end of each chapter includes a summary, a list of computer concepts, and a variety of well-written review questions. The instructional value of this section would be strengthened, and the chapter as a whole would become more focused and integrated, if the authors closely linked the review questions to an explicit list of objectives at the beginning of each chapter.

The software unit is impressive. It focuses on the use of pseudocode and flowcharting to develop program algorithms. The emphasis on pseudocode and flowcharts is carried through to Appendix D, “Introduction to Structured BASIC.” Highlighted boxes explain the purpose and format of each command and give examples and cautionary notes about the command. Together with the well-written text and programming examples, these boxes and the use of pseudocode and flowcharts make this text especially attractive where learning BASIC is a course objective. The software unit also contains expanded coverage of all major applications software, including word processing, spreadsheets, databases, graphics, and communications.

The multitude of color pictures spread throughout the text are clear and well done, as are the photo captions. The photos that illustrate software packages and applications concepts are clear and large enough for effective use. The publisher supports this text with a wide variety of laboratory packages as well as individual volumes that cover DOS, WordPerfect 4.2 and 5.0, Lotus 1-2-3 releases 2.2 and 3.0, dBASE III Plus and dBASE IV, and VP-Planner Plus. A study guide, an instructor’s guide with transparency masters, a 3,000-item test bank, the test generator HeathTest+, and color transparencies are also available.

If you are looking for a carefully edited and published, student-oriented text to use in an introductory computer course, you should consider this book seriously. The first edition of a text is often rushed to publication, ready or not, to meet adoption deadlines. The second edition is usually written more carefully, with modifications based on comments from users of the first edition. It seems that this text has undergone that careful revision process not only to adapt to changes in computer technology but, more important, to maximize student understanding.