These books are handy if you find the manual for your machine - Spectrum, Electron, or Commodore 64 - hard to understand because Derek Ellershaw and Peter Schofield carefully lay the foundations for you to build up your programming skills.

The authors don't profess to cover every aspect of how to use your machine, but by touching the tip of the iceberg should entice you to explore further.

Each book explains the keyboard, commands, looping, branching, variables and so on. There's good advice on add-ons and how to use your micro for practical applications.

They begin by telling you what you need to know before you start programming, then you move on to the bare bones of programming techniques, followed by hints on using a tape recorder and printer and more programming details.

Sandra Grandison