The Mac is Not a Typewriter

by Robin P. Williams

One of the most popular Macintosh books ever written, The Mac is not a typewriter has been called the " Strunk and White of typography." Best-selling author Robin Williams 's simple, logical principles for using type to produce beautiful, professional documents are as true now as they were when the original edition was published in 1989. This updated edition includes new examples and expanded information dedicated to the practical advice that made the first edition an enduring bestseller. Throughout, Robin shows you the small details that separate the pros from the amateurs: typographer versus typewriter quotation marks, en and em dashes, tabs and indents, kerning, leading, white space, widows and orphans, and hanging punctuation. If you prepare documents, you'll find The Mac is not a typewriter, Second Edition an indispensable guide. And those who read your documents will recognize the work of a pro, even if they don't know a curly quote from curly fries.

Genres: Reference, Design, Nonfiction, Technology, Writing, Business, Computers

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Robin P. Williams is an American writer of computer-related books. She is particularly known for her manuals of style The Mac is Not a Typewriter and The Non-Designer's Design Book, as well as numerous manuals for various Mac OS operating systems and applications, including The Little Mac Book. Williams has also spent years studying William Shakespeare, and in 2006 issued her book Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare? in which she proposed the writer Mary Sidney as a candidate in the Shakespearean authorship question.

Reviews

[James Rayman]

It's a quick read, and even though the discussion around software is dated, the general style guidelines are still valuable. I'm pretty nit-picky about my typesetting, and I still learned a few things from this book (e.g. about hanging punctuation). Though, there are also a few recommendations which may not be relevant to everyone or every document processor. For example, LaTeX (mostly) takes care of spacing, kerning, and line wrapping for you, and at least to me, writing a.m. and p.m. in small caps looks awkward.

[Leslie]

This tiny book is a perfect companion to Lynn Truss's "Eats, Shoots & Leaves". It picks up where Ms Truss leaves off, answering questions many of us sticklers didn't even know we had about the difference between a hyphen and a dash or tabs and indents and how many spaces to use between sentences. The appendices provide an excellent reference to the ascii codes for "unusual" characters as used by various word processors. An invaluable tool for anyone using type in design, or anyone who cares that their documents, now almost exclusively created on computer, hold up to the standards of the good old days.

[Jason]

Give as present to Art Director friends

[Bow Chambers]

This book doesn’t hold up in a real world setting.

[Elizabeth]

Two prerequisites for getting the most out of this book:

1. A computing machine of much antiquity (or a Mac, if Macs have kept the same keystrokes since 1990).

2. A thick skin as author Robin Williams could easily be described as a disgruntled junior college professor who has graded one-too-many bad papers. The book is laced with sarcasm with which I am annoyed but also admire simultaneously. Bottom line: if you crossed her grammatically on the street, she would challenge you to a rumble. But you probably wouldn't find her on a street as she's too busy kerning text.

My jesting aside, the book is very helpful. She discusses common grammatical errors as well as how to present your papers/headings/"pages" in a way that is aesthetically pleasing. Some of the information is extremely dated since it was published nearly 20 years ago (I believe Macs presently have more than 5 or so fonts), but the basic rules are still applicable and ones on which many of us could use a refresher. I also feel very strongly that every text/internet language-obsessed teenager should be required to read it.

My criticism:

I'm all for correct grammar usage but I do think it's something people can take too far. The judging, oh the judging. For instance, I'm paranoid about all of the errors I've made in this review alone which I don't think is something I should be wasting energy over. Yes, I still get embarrassed more than the average person (probably) when I discover I've made an obvious mistake, but there are people who take it way too far. Unless someone is paying me, I find going over letter spacing with a fine-toothed comb to be a waste of what little time I have in this life. That's what peer review and editors are for.

[Kaye McSpadden]

I recently re-read this book and was reminded how fabulous it is. Along with Williams' other works, including The Non-Designer's Design Book and the Non-Designer's Type Book, this is essential reading for anyone who works on newsletters and other print materials but is not professionally trained. These books are some of the most clearly-written, helpful, practical, and informative books I've ever read. (Note: if you're a Mac person, you should read The Mac is Not a Typewriter instead.)

[Tania]

I read the earlier edition of this book when I first transitioned from typewriter to computer (and Macs happened to be my introduction to the world of computing). There are lots of great tidbits in here, from the proper use of quotations and dashes to combining fonts and making sure your document is readable with them. It's presented very well so that it is easy to follow and to find your way to the information you need.

[Ram Ray]

The best little book I have ever seen offering so much information and inspiration for the crafting of better writing. Very informed and credible author who knows her semicolons really well . . . very few do! And she makes it all very interesting while pointing out mere typing is not good writing.

[Nicole J]

This reference book should be on everyones desk. I believe we have all become a little lazy with type, punctuation etc. This book has all the little things that make for professional writing summed up in "an easy to find" manual.

[Jo]

Robin Williams is so clear.

[Pam]

A little dry, but good info for typing things correctly and more up-to-date.

[Irene]

what i remember from the first few pages...do not double space after a period!

[Rita]

a good book to keep around if you use a mac for writing or for design. the whole "i'm superior because i'm a mac owner" attitude can get really irritating, though.

[Georgia]

Simple, humorous, and extremely useful.

[Douglas Wilson]

Very helpful. Filled in some important gaps.

[Mike]

Book on the differences between the PC and the typewriter. I've had a PC for a number of years and didn't ever learn to type on a typewriter, so this book didn't help me much.

[s2artM]

Great primer on how to use a computer correctly to set type. A must have for anyone serious about books and book design.

[Cp]

A book recommended by a very savvy nun who taught me graphic design in undergraduate school.

[Jena]

Dated, but most of the advice still holds true. Even with auto-formatting, it's easy to commit some grammatical/stylistic blunders. And the advice still works for most photo-editing software as well.

[Eric Waldbaum]

It has some clever writing tips. A few things were outdated or questionable, but it was mostly good and a quick read.

[Marico]

Easy to understand and entertaining to read.

[Sandra]

you learn how to type!!