Book reviews: Checking out books on Leopard

Posted by Dennis Sellers Jan 29, 2008 at 2:35am

If you’re looking for books on Mac OS X 10.5 (“Leopard”), there are three fairly recent releases from which to choose. The best is from O’Reilly Media has released Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual by David Pogue.

It’s a 912-page, US$34.95 book for the advanced-beginner or intermediate Mac user of Mac OS X 10.5 (“Leopard”). The book has an introduction to the Dock, the Mac OS X folder structure, the Mail application and a lot more. There are also mini-manuals on iLife applications such as iMovie, iDVD, and iPhoto, and a tutorial for Safari, Mac’s web browser.

Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual covers pretty much every topic you could imagine. Everything is explained in simple terms, and there lots of useful illustrations. However, what sets this book apart from the others is Pogue’s levity and sense of humor, which makes this long, in-depth book both a breezy and informative read.

Macsimum rating: 10 out of 10

(By the way, if you like this book, you’ll certainly enjoy iMovie ‘08 and iDVD: the Missing Manual (448 pages, $39.99), also by Pogue. It’s a great guide to those iLife ‘08 apps and is especially useful for folks like myself who find the transition from iMovie HD to iMovie ‘08 a bit confusing.)

Using Mac OS X Leopard: Special Edition

Also from O’Reilly is Using Mac OS X Leopard: Special Edition ($44.99) by Dave Miser. It’s not as easy of a read as Pogue’s book, but, if anything, it’s even more thorough.

Coming in at 1,018 pages, Miser’s book covers, well, pretty much every topic imaginable from “Getting Started with Mac OS X” to “Working with the Command Line.” It may offer too much info for the casual to intermediate user, but it’s a great tome for everyone who wants to get the very most out of Leopard.


Also, Using Mac OS X Leopard: Special Edition includes 45-day access to the online edition of the book. Another nice touch is that if you buy the book, you can go online and receive a coupon or access to bonus material when your register the book.

Macsimum rating: 9 out of 10

Sams Teach Yourself Mac OS X Leopard All in One

Sams Teach Yourself Mac OS X Leopard All in One ($34.99) by Robyn Ness and John Ray falls somewhere between the preceding books. It’s not as light-hearted as Pogue’s book nor as in-depth as Miser’s, but, at 678 pages is still very thorough.

Ness and Ray take a little different tact with i>Sams Teach Yourself Mac OS X Leopard All in One. The goal of the book is how to incorporate Leopard, iLife ‘08 and all its other bundled apps into one seamless workflow.

There’s also an emphasis on working with others in chapters on collaborating via iChat and sharing your screen, files and computer security. The book is easy to read with chapters filled with well-chosen graphics and useful “By the Way” tips.

Macsimum rating: 8 out of 10

Mac OS X Leopard Pocket Guide

The Mac OS X Leopard Pocket Guide is an entirely different animal. It’s designed to be a quick reference to the features of Mac OS X.

Though its smaller (in both physical dimensions and page count—at 208 pages), author Chuck Toporek does a fine job of packing the essential info (and then some) into this book, which makes a handy reference file for your desk or on the road if you’re still acclimating yourself to Mac OS X.

Mac OS X Leopard Pocket Guide has more than 300 tips and techniques, covering Leopard’s new features, configuring your system, more. There’s a “Survival Guide” for newcomers, and chapters on system preferences, applications and utilities, and configuring for experienced Mac users. If you want a compact book that offers quick and easy tips on using Mac OS X 10.5, this one’s a beaut.

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