FOCUS ON PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
AUTHOR:David Asche
PUBLISHER: Focal Press, April 2011: PAGES: 154, COST $19.95 (Amazon $13.00)
Rating 4.5 out of 5
David Asche has done what so few authors writing about Photoshop Elements have done, focus on the very basics. Users of Elements who are reasonably proficient may find this book too simple but for a newcomer to the program this book is invaluable. No matter what version of Elements you have all the fundamental tasks are covered and explained clearly, so that any "newbie" can get started quickly. Even users who think they are knowledgeable could be surprised with some of the tips. Recommended for every bookshelf especially at the price.
Posted: October 15, 2011

WINDOWS 7, INSIDE and OUT
AUTHORS: Ed Bott, Carl Siechert and Craig Stinson
PUBLISHER: Microsoft Press, August 2010: PAGES: 1026, COST: $49.99 (Amazon 27.26, Kindle $24.83)
Rating 4 out of 5
This book is geared toward a more technical user who will enjoy the very straightforward descriptions and explanations of the operating system. The authors are experts in the field and their approach is to explain and show the attributes without a lot of the attempted humor found in the likes of the "Dummies" series.
Not that the average user could not benefit from this very well written book but be prepared for a very no nonsense approach to the subject. The subject is explained in a very logical and understandable way so that most readers will grasp the fundamentals quickly and be able to search and find answers to most questions easily.
The CD that comes with the book contains the entire text of the book in an easily searchable format, plus some utilities. You can install it on your hard drive and have a convenient desktop version of the book.
Posted September 28, 2011

THE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 9 BOOK FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS
AUTHORS: Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski
PUBLISHER: Voices That Matter, November 2010: PAGES: 436, Cost $49.99 (Amazon $27.49)
Rating 4.5 out of 5
Kelby and Kloskowski are probably the two best known authors and instructors about Photoshop and Photoshop Elements around today and it is easy to see why when you explore this book. First however a word of caution, if you are an absolute newbie to the program you might find it hard to follow some of the tutorials but for everyone else with a little knowledge you should have no problems. I find this a very useful reference book, if I have a problem picture or have an idea but not quite sure how to accomplish it, checking through the chapter descriptions for a solution usually works. I am not sure which of the duo has the slightly warped sense of humor when it comes to naming chapters ("Scream of the Crop"?) but don't let that put you off this is a very good book for everyone.
Posted July 1, 2011

HOW TO CHEAT IN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 9
AUTHOR: David Asch & Steve Caplin
PUBLISHER: Focal Press, 2011: PAGES: 311, COST $39.95 (Amazon $26.37)
Rating 3.5 out of 5
This book is very well illustrated with numerous full color images and lots of projects for you to follow. A CD is included with the tutorial images plus some free fonts and brush presets. Some of the projects are not what I would call basic learning techniques but rather for intermediate level users. The authors have great technical knowledge but getting the point across simply is not to the same standard. If you have a good basic knowledge of Elements 9 this is a worthwhile book but it is not for beginners.
Posted June 25, 2011

DREAMWEAVER CS5, THE MISSING MANUAL
AUTHOR: David Sawyer McFarland
PUBLISHER: Pogue Press/O'Reilly, June 2010: PAGES:1073, COST $49.99 (Amazon 27.49, Kindle 19.79)
Rating 4 out of 5
For beginners and experienced web designers this is good reference book to have on hand .I am a long-time user of Dreamweaver, and have to say that this is a very clear, well-written and comprehensive book. For advanced users it Includes a very helpful section on building dynamic websites with MySQL and PHP. This is a great resource for every Dreamweaver user, at many different levels of competency. Virtually all the nuances of designing a decent, workable website are covered and explained in great detail (hence the 1000+ pages).
Posted January 15, 2011

PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 9, THE MISSING MANUAL
AUTHOR: Barbara Brundage
PUBLISHER:Pogue Press/O'Reilly, September 2010: PAGES: 622, COST: $44.99 (Amazon $29.69)
Rating 4 out of 5
Another good teaching book from Barbara Brundage. This book is complete and easy to use but not so technical one can't properly utilize the information. It is a good book for all levels of Photoshop Elements 9 users: beginning to advanced. The index is quite complete so if you have forgotten how to do one thing, you can easily get to the right page. However considering that the big change with the 9th edition of Elements is the inclusion of layers masks in the editor the coverage of this topic is very meager for such a great addition. The example shown is not at all indicative of the power and versatility of layer masks. However it is still an excellent book for learning the program with very good examples.
Posted September 25, 2010

OFFICE 2010, THE MISSING MANUAL
AUTHORS: Nancy Conner & Matthew MacDonald
PUBLISHER: Pogue Press/O'Reilly, July 2010: PAGES:926, COST: $39.99 (Amazon $21.99)
Rating 4.5 out of 5
Although the authors do not pretend to completely cover the whole Office Suite in this book it more than addresses the most important areas of the Office programs. Well written and very easy to follow it is an essential addition to your library unless you are an expert already!
Posted July 1, 2010

USING ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 9
This is a free PDF download on the Adobe website (see my review in the September 2009 Newsletter). As mentioned in the December Newsletter a local print shop has given me a great deal to print and comb bind this for only $28 plus tax, (about $2.59), which I highly recommended. Adobe have also posted a PDF version of using the Organizer which I have just downloaded. It appears to be another winner and at 180 pages will probably be cheaper to print. If anyone is interested I will talk to my local print guy and get a quote.
Posted February 5, 2010

PREMIER ELEMENTS 8 FOR DUMMIES
AUTHOR: Keith Underdahl
PUBLISHER: Wiley, January, 2010 PAGES: 346, COST: $29.99 (Amazon $19.79)
RATING: 3.5 out of 5
As with the Missing manual edition the images are not very good although an improvement. The organization of the book is better than the missing manual although it suffers from the same "jumping around" rather than setting a course and following it. I give credit though for the easy to understand narrative and ease of finding answers.
Posted February 5, 2010

PREMIER ELEMENTS 8, THE MISSING MANUAL
AUTHOR: Chris Grover
PUBLISHER: Pogue Press/O'Reilly, October, 2009 Pages: 462, Cost: $34.99 (Amazon $23.09)
Rating: 3 out of 5
The illustrations in this book are all black and white and it is very difficult to see the details of the monitor screen. This is a big drawback and makes reading very irritating. This is compounded by the seeming disjointed approach to the program, jumping around from one subject to another is distracting. Fortunately the index is well organized and helps to find answers. As one of the few third party books available on the subject it is probably the best available at this time.
Posted February 5, 2010

PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 8, THE MISSING MANUAL
AUTHOR: Barbara Brundage
PUBLISHER:Pogue Press/O'Reilly, September 2009: PAGES: 622, COST: $44.95 (Amazon $29.69)
Rating 4.5 out of 5
Barbara Brundage deserves a round of applause for her continued efforts in the Photoshop Elements series. This is the sixth book in the series she has written and as always it is concise, interesting and very informative. The comments made in the review of the Elements 5 edition hold true for this book, the colors are not very good. For those of you who own a Kindle reader or who have the free Kindle for PC there is a Kindle version available from Amazon for $26.72.
Posted December 28, 2009