One complaint which cannot be levelled against this book is that of being over-priced. There are 300 pages of tightly packed printing, and the range of subjects covered is quite extensive. However, there are a few niggling mistakes which should have been removed at the proof-reading stage.

For instance, there is a simple typing error on page eight, while on page 27 the diagram of screen formatting tends to suggest that the characters are printed between the columns. The CTRL symbol has been left out of the listing on pages 119/120 and so on. It is enough to give the beginner more problems, rather than easing them!

Leaving these points aside, what is the book like? Well, there are so many books appearing on the market for the Electron that one looks for a different approach or original ideas. Unfortunately, this book tends to have a rather stodgy approach, being so packed with information.

A fairly experienced reader will learn little they don't already know while the true beginner would do better to stick to either the rather good user manual, or one of the other books flooding the market now. It relies too much on the written word (thousands of them!), with little relief provided through diagrams, screen dumps or photographs.

It is indeed true that the scope covered by this book is very extensive, with a vast amount of information included, but I cannot really see the book appealing to a very large section of Electron owners.