As the BBC is the most important computer in schools, there is a need for a book written specifically for teachers detailing some of the possible classroom applications. Mr Deeson's book is not it.

The first chapter asks the inevitable question "What is a computer?" and in a couple of pages swiftly disposes of bytes, CPUs, ROMs and RAMs - all never to be mentioned again, so why bother in the first place? It also features a feeble drawing of a BBC, monitor and tape recorder sitting on a desktop - in case you didn't know what such things looked like.

Next we get a Basic programming tutorial from first principles and I mean first principles - for example, 'Press RETURN after each line'. Very laudable, but a bit out of place in this book. Then comes a section on applications - Prestel, word processing and the like, which again is disposed of very quickly.

And so the book continues, jumping from one subject to another and not really covering anything in sufficient depth. The best chapter is the one on graphics, nicely combining program listings with typical applications of computer graphics - CAD, plotters, etc. The worst is on flowcharts and 'top-down programming'.

Throughout the book, Mr. Deeson adopts a rather juvenile style: do people actually call the BBC a 'Beebox', and do we really need cartoon drawings of 'bugs' in a book aimed at teachers? In his previous book, Easy Programming For The BBC Micro, this device worked well, but here it gets a bit tiresome. In fact, that was a much better book for the newcomer to the BBC, and indeed several chunks from it have found their way into this new book.

The book aims to do too much: teach the novice Basic programming, cover the many applications of computers, and act as a resource book for teachers. In 170 pages it cannot hope to succeed. Where it would be useful is as a guide to writing educational programs - a very specialised field.

The book contains some useful programs and routines for error-trapping, 'user-friendliness' and easy-to-read instructions, and as such would be invaluable to a teacher who already knows BBC Basic and wants to write his or her own educational software.

Memo to Shiva Publishing: why not call the book Educational Programming For The BBC Micro and lose a few of the cartoons?