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Developing Quality Technical Information: A Handbook for Writers and Editors Gretchen Hargis and others. 2004. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall and IBM Press. [ISBN 0-13-147749-8. 445 pages, including index. $39.99 USD.]
Many technical communicators are familiar with the second edition of Sun Technical Publications' Read me first! A style guide for the computer industry and the third edition of the Microsoft manual of style for technical, publications (reviewed in the February 2004 and February 2005 issues of Technical communication, respectively). Although those books are very good, the new edition of IBM Press' style guide Developing quality technical information is even better. Like many IBM product manuals, this book is written for a much more technical audience, and it goes into much greater detail about style issues than the other two guides.
This greater detail is evident from the moment you open the book. The first chapter discusses the concept of quality technical information and sets the tone for the rest of the book. One good thing about this level of detail is that it forces the reader to think a little bit harder and more critically about how a manual should be put together. At times, however, I feel this attention to detail could almost border on...