Look Out! Here Come The Mac Leopard Books.

If the Mac is so easy to use then why do we need to buy books to show us how to use a Mac? The Mac ships with a teeny tiny booklet guide. Help is everywhere online or onscreen.

Do we really need an extra book or two to show us all the Mac’s features? In a word, yes. Like it or don’t, Mac OS X Leopard is a more complicated beast that Tiger.

I was checking the daily stats of the Mac360 Store, which is really a window into Amazon. So I did a search on “Mac OS X Leopard” using Amazon’s search. Guess what? Dummies abound.

Amazon is already loaded with books about the intricacies of Mac OS X Leopard, including the famous “Missing Manual” series and a bunch of Leopard for Dummies. Over two dozen books on Leopard.

Do you really need to buy a book to show you how to use Leopard? After all, isn’t Leopard even easier to use than Mac OS X Tiger? Why the need for a book? What’s wrong with PDF’s and onscreen help?

It’s not a fair question. As nice as they are, you can’t just curl up with a MacBook or MacBook Pro the same way you can with a book. Books are the ultimate portable information device and usually last far longer than our Macs.

Of course, Mac users dutifully purchase new Mac cat books with every release of OS X, so there’s obviously a need to learn the fine points of the Mac operating system.

For those of us who are nearly Mac power users, do we need books to help us learn about Leopard? The short answer is yes. The longer answer is, ‘it depends on the book.’

I’m not much for the Mac OS X Dummies series, and Amazon already has three versions for dummies. Are there that many dummies out there? There’s Bob LeVitus’ poplular series, just plain Mac OS X Leopard for Dummies.

There’s also the Mac OS X Leopard All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies, by Mark Chambers. And for truly newbie dummies, there’s Keith Underdahl’s Mac OS X Leopard Just The Steps for Dummies.

One of my favorites is the Missing Manual series from David Pogue. The latest is still missing, but you can pre-order Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual. Like the Dummies series, some books are ready now, including Teach Yourself Visually Mac OS X Leopard. How else would you do it? Lights out?

Also ready for shipment is the Visual QuickStart Guide by Maria Langer, always a good series for Mac newbies and a good gift idea. Available soon will be the PeachPit Learning Series on Mac OS X Leopard by Robin Williams.

I purchased Scott Kilby’s Killer Tips series for both Panther and Tiger, so the latest, Mac OS X Leopard Killer Tips is already on my shopping list. For Mac users who understand Andy Ihnatko’s perspective on all things Mac, you’ll be interested in ordering the not yet published The Mac OS X Leopard Book.

Do you need a book about Leopard? I can only count a few dozen of the more than 300 new features in Leopard, and I’m sure I couldn’t remember all the features in Tiger, so maybe some kind of reference book is worthwhile.

What’s your favorite Mac OS X book and why? Do you give books as holiday gifts or buy only for yourself?