Book: The Macintosh iLife '09 Author: Jim Heid Publisher: Peachpit Press/O'Reilly ISBN: 978-0-321-60134-6 Pages: 405 Price: $39.99 US Level: Beginner through Advanced Rating: 5 out of 5 Apples

As an avid user of Jim Heid's The Macintosh iLife '06 book, I was more than anxious to get my paws on the updated iLife '09 edition. The wait was worth it; Heid did not disappoint. Jim Heid has been writing about personal computers since 1980, and it shows. Not to mention, he has been working with Mac computers since the first prototypes in 1983 (takes you way back, doesn't it?). Ergo, Heid knows that of which he speaks (or, er, writes).

As a technical writer, I am perhaps slightly more critical of user guides. Also, honestly, I am oft times nervous about trying new things on my own for fear of really screwing something up, badly. Therefore, I eagerly seek out manuals written for those who are not really computer geeks in the true sense of the word. I love my Mac, but I'm not always comfortable performing feats of daring-do such as moving libraries about; trying to download video clips from a video camera; creating slideshows using the latest iLife upgrades; saving to iPhone and iPod touch, et al. Oh, and have I mentioned GarageBand yet? For that, I prefer Jim Heid's books

The opening salvo of this book is, "Read Me First." Okay, perhaps some may not bother, but I certainly did and it provides not only a tip to view video tutorials on the software at www.apple.com/ilife, but the suggestion to keep updated with any iLife changes on www.macilife.com. Readers not new to iLife can easily skip to any part of the book and delve into the chapter needed at that moment, but new users will glean very helpful information from the first chapter, "Introducing iLife." It even covers Apple TV. Throughout the book, Heid offers highlighted instructions (found within the blue boxes) that offer a bit more detail, or how to accomplish a task related to the current section discussed. I have found them extremely helpful as I make my way through the book.

"iPhoto and Digital Photography" is the first section as well as the longest. It covers so much of what can be done with just this one piece of software. While it does not go into extraordinary detail, as would a Missing Manual guide, it covered enough to get me going on new projects, and to keep me going quite comfortably. I admit that there were a few sections that had me scratching my head, uttering "huh?" and re-reading, still without fully understanding the instructions. Of course, that's just me and with that I was able to try out the aforementioned websites to seek clarification. Okay, I'm a little slow, so what?

My major challenge was cleaning up the iPhoto Library currently taking up way too much space on my MacBook Pro (with its old, stunted hard drive). Following the book closely, and re-reading it several times, I mustered up the courage to move my library to an external hard drive. Whew! It worked.

iMovie remains my daunting, uncharted challenge. I first have to convert my video clips to a format recognized by iMovie before I get into the nitty-gritty. For that, I will need a bit more time.

GarageBand is amazing, and earns a manual or two all by itself. However, for casual users, Heid offers a wonderful array of instructions and tips for using loops, working with tracks, plugging in actual instruments, and even working with the music notation and printing a score. While serious musicians may find this section lacking, or elementary, I found it more than helpful for my casual usage.

iWeb is the final section which, honestly, I have not yet used. With my own website already up and running, I had no need for the software.

I wish Jim Heid would write manuals for lots more software packages. His writing is easy to understand, easy to follow, and written for the non-gurus among us. This is the kind of user guide I would write because this is how I best learn on my own (personal instruction is always more helpful, but...). Thank you, Jim, for another well-done tome.