Both these top-notch books have "Bible" and "ClarisWorks 4" in the title, and are comparably priced. What's the big difference? Let's have a look at Peachpit's The Macintosh Bible Guide to ClarisWorks 4.

BUT FIRST, I can hear you thinking: "Hey, John. Don't you know that somewhere, safely tucked away in Softwareland, CA, the new ClarisWorks 5 is being prepared for release? Aren't you a bit slow off the mark with these old books?"

WELL, I use ClarisWorks 4 (CW4) every day, all day, as do many of our readers. The print manual is insufficient, and the comprehensive online help is first rate, if you prefer that format. Just the same, give me a book (!) and I consistently learn faster and better. CW4 will be around for quite a while, and the astute readers of My Mac deserve to know which "bible" to select.

Back to the main event. ClarisWorks is the premier integrated software application, and it is now offered for both Mac and Windows. These two books are specifically for Mac users.

Charles Rubin devotes the first hefty chunk of his Macintosh Bible Guide to ClarisWorks 4 to the essentials and basics of using CW4, before he plunges into the six components of ClarisWorks. The CW4 style features and the assistants are among the most powerful and most under-used aspects of this versatile software package. The book does a praiseworthy job of explaining both of them in this opening section, and includes troubleshooting advice.

Each individual application of ClarisWorks is then systematically described in detail, one chapter at a time: word processor, spreadsheet (including charting), database, drawing program, painting program, and the communications program. The finale of The Macintosh Bible Guide to ClarisWorks 4, takes the experienced user through advanced techniques, such as: functions, frames, macros, mail merge, slide shows, and making documents with HTML (hyper-text markup language, used on the World Wide Web). A six-page guide indicates every generic and specific ClarisWorks keyboard command.

Rubin's book is easy to read, with very bold headings, plenty of white space on the pages, excellent screen shots and illustrations, and a clear, no-nonsense writing style. The pages are enhanced with icons to identify new features, tips, and important notes.

*****

How does the Macworld ClarisWorks 4 Bible compare? For openers, it's more detailed. The book is many pages longer, and each page appears to have more information. Steven Schwartz writes in a snappy, upbeat manner.

A thorough chapter on CW essentials opens the text. Then, each "environment", as Schwartz calls the integrated components, receives its own chapter. Word processing, the most commonly used feature of ClarisWorks, rates an extensive 80-page chapter. Schwartz utilizes an unusual format for his individual-environment chapters, as he explains:

"This book is task oriented. The reason most people buy computer books is not because they want to become an expert with a particular piece of software. Instead, they have a task that they want to accomplish."

He certainly delivers. The word processing chapter includes complete tutorials on such diverse tasks as: adding graphics to word processing documents, and using the word processing assistants to make tables and footnotes. The lengthy following chapters on the spreadsheet and database modules are equally instructive. The draw and paint environments are combined in a graphics chapter, and the 45-page section on the communications component explains more than I never knew I didn't know on the subject.

Next comes Part Four: Mastering ClarisWorks. Readers certainly will master CW4 when they delve into using stationery documents and assistants, setting preferences, the versatile shortcuts palette, macros, frames, styles, slide shows, publish and subscribe, email, working with libraries, and creating Web pages for the Internet. Steven Schwartz means business, readers. He even provides an entire appendix on spreadsheet and database function definitions, such as the formula "BASETONUM" and "MIRR" (modified internal rate of return, friends, not the Russian space-hotel). As in Charles Rubin's book, itemized keyboard shortcuts end the book. The illustrations and important-item icons are plentiful.

How about a test? Two supposedly confusing features of CW4 are publish and subscribe, and frames. Which author explains them so that I, your dedicated user, can understand them and work with them readily? (Time out, while John reads the chapters and does the exercises.)

And the winner is ... !

*****

I'm a big fan of Peachpit Books, and I admire Charles Rubin tremendously for his many outstanding books on Macintosh applications. His Macintosh Bible Guide to ClarisWorks is a worthwhile book, by any standard. For my money and time, though, Steven Schwartz beats him fair and square with the Macworld ClarisWorks 4 Bible. Either book will serve you well. The Macintosh community owes a tremendous "thank you" to IDG and Peachpit for producing a stellar pair of books on the single most popular Mac application of all time.

*****

Postscript
ClarisWorks introduced full drag-and-drop compatibility after these books were published. With CW 4.0.v5, the current update, you can drag-and-drop freely and extensively within any ClarisWorks document, and also between documents!

Macworld Mac OS 7.6 Bible
by Lon Poole
IDG Books Worldwide www.idgbooks.com
ISBN 0-7645-4014-9, 704 pages
$34.99 US $48.99 Canada £33.99 UK

*****

At first glance these two books appear to be substantially different, but under the surface how much do they have in common?

Lon Poole's Macworld Mac OS 7.6 Bible is a heavyweight Macintosh system software book, full of practical information and tips. Because Mac OS 7.6 is very similar to 7.5.x, the majority of this 7.6 Bible is essentially identical to Poole's excellent previous Mac System Bible. If you own his impressive book on system 7.5 and are comfortable with system 7.6.x, you may not need to own the 7.6 Bible.

Are you planning to continue to use system 7.6.x until all the early-bird bugs have been eliminated from the new Mac OS 8? If you're serious about Macintosh system software and operation, and don't currently possess a first-class reference book on Mac OS 7.6, I urge you to consider obtaining Poole's 7.6 bible.

The writing and presentation are consistently clear, direct, and useful, with abundant screen shots, illustrations, and sidebars. Poole's style is strictly business, with a serious, constructive no-nonsense tone of voice. He is particularly strong on explaining concepts, terms, and step-by-step procedures.

Among the most outstanding sections are an entire chapter on Aliases, followed by a chapter on Fonts and Typography. My favorite is Chapter 20, "Uncovering Tips and Secrets," including how to make a custom startup screen, and dozens more hints.

*****

Mac OS 7.6 for Dummies, also entitled Macintosh System 7.6 for Dummies, calls itself "A Reference for the Rest of Us!" The "Dummies" approach to computer books is immensely popular, and for good reason. All essential information is included in a snappy, attractive format. You can be a "smartie" and still find this book to be tremendously helpful.

7.6 for Dummies opens with a handy "Cheat Sheet" of Finder keyboard commands and other pertinent tips, and displays on one page all the book's cartoons at a glance before we get to the Table of Contents. From the Introduction to Index, LeVitus stresses the fun and ease of using the Macintosh. System 7.6 for Dummies is full of humor, especially in the section headings, such as: