Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Outlook 2000 in 24 Hours covers how to install, use, and configure Microsoft Outlook 2000 with a minimum of fuss. The book is written in a friendly, approachable style that does not overwhelm you with too much information. Step-by-step lessons show you how to set up Outlook to send and receive email, automatically respond to email messages and filter out junk, and store and manage lists of all your business and personal contacts. You'll also learn to keep track of appointments and tasks, send and receive faxes right from your computer, find buried contacts, messages, and other information, and make Outlook work with other Office 2000 applications.

Look out! Whether you've been using Microsoft Outlook since the beginning of your computer experience or you're new to the whole area of personal information management software, the 2000 upgrade will change your world for the better. If you've got limited time to teach yourself the ins and outs of this brave new world and you want to keep yourself entertained--your choice is easy: pick up SAMS Teach Yourself Microsoft Outlook 2000 in 24 Hours.

You'll get 24 well-indexed lessons, each timed at about an hour (though they're self-paced, of course), covering everything from the basics of configuring, navigating, and managing Outlook to advanced operations using the Internet and other Microsoft applications. Learn what you need when you need it, and leave the rest for a slow day or crunch-time. A very handy cheat sheet accompanying the book will save you from moving back and forth between computer and bookshelf.

Author Herb Tyson knows his way around Office applications, and it shows; better still, his writing is crisp and fun to read while also distilling the information you need into easily digestible bits. After you've plowed through a few of the lessons and gotten Outlook 2000 rolling, you'll wonder how you got along without it--and you'll cackle with glee in anticipation of your imminent mastery. --Rob Lightner