top 10 list

[Gad <gad -at- KSU -dot- KSU -dot- EDU>]

Hey folks--
     Since the thread seems to have died down, I thought I'd go ahead and post
my list of the titles suggested over the past couple of weeks.  I'm including
the original post/request.  Sorry for any mistakes made in assembling this
list.  Also, the extent of bibliographic info varies.  Enjoy.

gad
------------

In my ever advancing quest to better myself I am interested in  discovering
what other technical writers feel are the top ten books that every technical
writer should either own or have read. I look forward to receiving your replies.

(2)     _The Chicago Manual of Style_

        Curme, George.  _English Grammar_.

        Copperud, Roy.  _American Usage & Style: The Consensus_.

        Eisenberg, Anne.  _Writing Well for the Technical Professions_.

        Fowler, H.W.  _Modern English Usage_.

        Hartley, James.  _Designing Instructional Text_.  East Brunswick NJ:
                Nichols, 1994.

        Horton, William.  _Designing and Writing Online Documentation_.
                ???: John Wiley, 19??.

        ---.  _Illustrating Computer Documentation_.  ???: John Wiley, 19??.

        Judd, Karen.  _Copyediting: A Practical Guide_.

        Lutz, Bill.  _Doublespeak_.  New York: Harper, 1989.

        _A Manual of Style_.  ???: U of Chicago P, 19??.

        Mulvany, Nancy.  _Indexing Books_.

        Norman, Don.  _The Design of Everyday Things_.

        Pakin, Sandra and Associates.  _Documentation Development Methodology_.

        Perry, Carol Rosenblum.  _The Fine Art of Technical Writing_.
                ???: Blue Heron, 1991.

        _Pocket Pal: A Graphic Arts Production Handbook_.  ???:International
                Paper, 19??.

        Shaw, Harry.  _Punctuate It Right!_.

(2)     Strunk & White.  _The Elements of Style_.

        _The Synonym Finder_.

(2)     Tufte, Edward. _Envisioning Information_.

(2)     ---.  _The Visual Display of Quantitative Information_.

        Wellisch, Hans H.  _Indexing from A to Z_.

        Winner, Langdon.  _The Whale and the Reactor: A Search for Limits
                in an Age of High Technology_.  Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1986.

        Woolever, Kristin R. and Helen M. Loeb.  _Writing for the Computer
                Industry_.

        _Words into Type_.

        Wurman, Richard Saul.  _Follow the Yellow Brick Road_.

(2)     Zinsser, William.  _On Writing Well_.  New York: Harper, 1990.



Less specific recommendations include:

        - A good dictionary
        - Computer dictionaries
        - Any of the _XXX for Dummies_ books




         Greg Dyer                ||   If it's bigger than your head,
         gad -at- ksu -dot- ksu -dot- edu          ||      it's probably a melon.
         http://www.ksu.edu/~gad  ||


















--
         Greg Dyer                ||   If it's bigger than your head,
         gad -at- ksu -dot- ksu -dot- edu          ||      it's probably a melon.
         http://www.ksu.edu/~gad  ||