A far better introduction to the Basic language can be found in this book by Rodnay Zaks. Zaks is well known for his machine-code programming books and his works are considered as the standard reference guids for popular processors.

I have never been over-fond of Mr. Zak's style of writing, though undoubtedly his books contained essential information. It therefore came as quite a surprise to receive a book which explained Basic programming at a very simple level. Furthermore I was pleased with the presentation.

As you may have guessed from comments elsewhere, I believe that books for the absolute beginner must be written in a step-by-step fashion. This book is written in such a way. Starting from a concise explanation of computers and programming languages, the author proceeds to a chapter on communicating with a micro. The keyboard and 'why you type what you type' is often a mystery to beginners and the author gently introduces the notion of programming instructions to the user.

The remainder of the book follows the logical course of calculations, variables, writing clear programs and the concept of loops (FOR...NEXT), decisions (IF...THEN) and other fundamental skills. The book is full of illustrations and is delightful to work from. My only criticism is that the book does not go far enough (no mention of arrays and data handling) but in fairness the book does say 'your first Amstrad program'. That is exactly what it teaches, and a very fine job it does too.