Movable Gripe

A review:

What is the Last Book You Bought? The Movable Type 3 Bible by Rogers Cadenhead -- singularly the most useless reference book I've ever bought. I've learned one thing. One measly thing. Put this on your "do not buy" list.

Potential cover blurb for the next edition: "singularly the most ... I've learned."

Publishing · 2005/06/10 · 5 COMMENTS · Link

Comments

Well that is poor review...

#1 · Dusty · 2005/06/10

Reviews that short are typically by people who found the first few paragraphs of subject matter WAAAAY over their limited heads, and summarily abandoned the book entirely.

I wholeheartedly support your selective rewording for the next edition. Movie promoters often employ the same technique to get a good review from Roger Ebert.

#2 · David K · 2005/06/10

For what it's worth, I have to agree with the reviewer. I would hope that I'd have chosen my words a little more carefully though.

To call that book a Moveable Type Bible isn't fair to bibles everywhere. While there's some good information inside, it certainly lacks the REAL nuts and bolts I was expecting. A third party book like this should make you want to pitch any other documentation...this one didn't.

You live and you learn.

See you on the high ground.

MajorDad1984

#3 · MajorDad1984 · 2005/06/11

Another potential blurb: "there's some good information inside ... the REAL nuts and bolts I was expecting."

One thing I've found in eight years of writing computer books is that readers either really like a title or really hate it. A reference either does what you need and you keep it within arm's reach -- I never code without MySQL by Paul DuBois nearby -- or you think it blows goats.

What subjects were you unable to find in the book, Major?

I'm reasonably happy with how MT 3 Bible turned out -- at $16, I think it's easier to use and more complete than Six Apart's online docs, and it incorporates a lot of stuff I had to fish through the support forums and MT blogs to learn.

However, I am hoping there's a second edition so I can expand plug-in programming, cover the new dynamic PHP rendering features that came out after it went to press, and document the official release of Atom instead of the 0.3 draft.

#4 · Rogers Cadenhead · 2005/06/11

At the time I'd have welcomed a chapter on migrating from MT 2.x to MT 3.x, especially in terms of replacing or retooling superseded templates.

Definitely the new dynamic PHP features cry out for helpful documentation. I've been unable to get it working on my own setup, despite hosting a number of other PHP/mySQL apps there.

#5 · xian · 2005/06/15