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\centerline{\bf Book Review}
\medskip\noindent
{\it The Illustrated Handbook of
Desktop Publishing and Typesetting,
Michael L Kleper, 770pp,
John Wiley, \quid24.25, {\sc isbn}:0 83060 700 5.}
\smallskip\noindent
Weighing in at 2.1 kilos, and with a page size
of $11 \times 8.5\,$inches, this is a substantial
book.
My first reaction was one of
disappointment, since the text gives the appearance of
having been assembled from
lots of other bits and pieces. Naturally, it does
contain a wealth of useful information even if
that information is not always easy to find (this will
come as no hardship to \TeX ies, inured to the
obscuratism of the \TeX book).
To a large extent the book helps to reinforce my
suspicion that many aspects of typography are
intuitive, or at least, that there is little
urge within the typographic world to place
their art on a more accessible level.
Some of the `rules' of typography are in there,
and where explanations are known, Kleper gives them.
This leaves a lot which is merely prescribed
(not Kleper's fault by any means). At least he does
describe the processes which go on (or went on) in
traditional printing (that is, publishing before
the introduction of the desktop: what on earth did they
do without desk tops?).
But in the end I'm left with a hollow feeling
that there isn't much theory in there. Kleper is
at his best, and most voluminous, when he describes
some of the multitude of systems around. This
probably contributes to about 75\% of the book.
Fortunately, it isn't just a re-hash of {\it PageMaker\/}
but includes some genuine typesetting systems,
and from time to time includes information about
the `anecdotal' history behind the hardware
and software. As a trivia lover I find
this most illuminating, but I do wish that some of
the descriptions didn't sound like reworkings
of manuals. On the other hand, I was fascinated to learn
that the first successful machine that Ottmar Merganthaler
(known in his home village as ``cleverhead'')
installed in the offices of
the {\it New York Tribune} in
July 1886 had the entire process of
character assembly, justification, casting, and distribution
under the control of a single operator. Plus \c ca change.
At a historical level,
the book is quite useful, but Kleper's approach
to history is really at the anectodal or
straight factual level. He draws
no inferences, nor does he place technological innovation
within the social framework of the time. This is
quite understandable, but often infuriating.
Kleper makes some creditable attempts to answer the
questions `Why typeset at all?' and `When should I typeset in-%
house?' Too often it seems that dtp\slash typesetting
is taken for granted as a good thing --- the latest
gadget, without which no street-credible
thrusting innovative hitch-hiker's guide writer can survive.
One of the criteria for any book in this general subject
area is how it handles \TeX. \TeX\ in fact gets
two pages, and what Kleper chooses to emphasise
is its `output device independence'. Actually, this
is one of the redeeming aspects of the book.
Dtp is not taken to imply merely
Pagemaker\slash
Ventura\slash Xpress\slash RSG!4. And output
devices are not merely laser printers.
{\it Wysiwyg} is merely one
approach among many. This book does help to broaden
horizons.
The early chapters bring together a good
amount of material which seems often to be taken
for granted. Many of the illustrations are useful too.
At last I know how ugly a Linotype hot-metal
machine was.
Some of the systems described are available only
in the US, and the `Helpful Sources of Information'
Appendix, as you would probably expect, is
very US-oriented. But even if I was to remove
all the superflous material, and end up
with a smaller, more compact
book (which would be handy), it would still
represent terrific value for money.
\rightline{\sl Malcolm W. Clark}
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