Originally, I was going to pass on this and other Tiger books as Tiger seemed more of a somewhat minor upgrade to Panther rather than a significantly new OS. But I found that the new improvements (i.e. Automator, Dashboard and Spotlight) along with the minor ones (Apple says there are 200 changes) demanded some assistance and David's books are always an easy read. The book begins with a solid overview of the Mac desktop, Dock, System Preferences and Toolbar. It also includes an overview of all of the "i" programs included with Tiger; iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto and iTunes (now up to version 5) . There's an entire section on the Internet (from Mail & Address Book to Safari, iChat, and Sherlock), plus extensive coverage of networking. The troubleshooting chapter is an especially helpful overview of what to do when something doesn't quite work correctly, and there's a handy list of keyboard shortcuts at the end.

David has included many sidebar extras as usual. The first sidebar which needs to be touched on are his graphics that explain the operations described on the page. Each picture (in black, gray and white; not in color to hold down the costs) clearly details not only the text but shows the new user exactly what each operation accomplishes. These are easy references that back up the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. The second set of (IMHO) important sidebars are the Power User Clinic explanations. While many of us routinely scan the Internet for all things Mac, David has provided us with so many hints it almost necessitates a second pocket sized book just so we can carry it around with our Powerbooks and iBooks. I keep the book at my computer desk not just for myself but also for my wife who is slowly but surely gaining on me with her expertise.

Needless to say, there are so many gems in this book that it's just too overwhelming to try to describe them all. I advise everyone to hike over to your favorite store that carries computer books and do a side by side comparison with the other Mac OS books.

The best way to access all this material is by using the CD included in the inside back cover. Wait a minute!!!! There's no darn CD! Is David ripping us off? Has the OSmeister succumbed to nefarious shenanigans? No, for as David states, he has just saved us $5.00 because all the hints, tips, updates and corrections that were going to be on a rapidly outdated CD are posted at www.missingmanuals.com . As Bernadette Peters said in Blazing Saddles, "What a nice guy!"

BTW, having seen David's latest video (the iPod nano 'commercial'), I've finally figured it out. When Steve Jobs retires or becomes Governor of California, David's going to to become the new CEO of Apple Computer. Can you imagine him doing the Keynote?