Good news: This book is not meant to be read from cover to cover. Microsoft Word 2000 For Dummies is full of self-contained sections, each of which describes how to perform a specific task or get something done. Sample sections you encounter in this book include

• Saving your stuff
• Cutting and pasting a block
• Quickly finding your place
• Aligning paragraphs
• A quick way to cobble a table together
• A caption for your figure
• Step-by-step mail merging guide

There are no keys to memorize, no secret codes, no tricks, no pop-up dioramas, and no wall charts. Instead, each section explains a topic as if it's the first thing you read in this book. Nothing is assumed, and everything is cross-referenced. Technical terms and topics, when they come up, are neatly shoved to the side where you can easily avoid reading them. The idea here isn't for you to learn anything. This book's philosophy is to help you look it up, figure it out, and get back to work.

This book informs and entertains. And it has a serious attitude problem. After all, the goal of the book is not to teach you to love Microsoft Word. Instead, be prepared to encounter some informative, down-to-earth explanations – in English – of how to get the job done by using Microsoft Word. You take your work seriously, but you definitely don't need to take Microsoft Word seriously.

If you are an experienced Word user, Word 2000's new features, which are few for the average user, will not require relearning the software. Gookin has made learning the basics of Word 2000 easy and fun for those who do not know the product well or are new to Word. As with all Dummies books, the irreverent style wears well and the humor makes learning enjoyable.

Word 2000 first teaches you the basics of creating a document. Subsequent learning areas include formatting, creating tables, inserting figures, making a table of contents, and even mail merging using Word. While the coverage of the essentials is very good, the tips scattered throughout the book are often priceless. For instance, Gookin tells you how to alter the Office Assistant's icon or hide it completely. He also includes such useful tips as how to use an ALT-key combination to copy character formats. If you want to learn Word 2000 and have some fun doing it, Word 2000 for Windows for Dummies is the right book for you. --Rob Franklin