Title: Teach Yourself VISUALLY Excel 2010
Author: Paul McFedries
Publisher: Visual
ISBN: 9780470577646

This book in the Visually series carries on the tradition of breaking tasks into normally two-page lessons with numerous pictures. Most pages have two screen shots.

Topics are organized in the following 15 chapters.

1. Working with Excel
2. Entering and Editing Excel Data
3. Working with Excel Ranges
4. Working with Range Names
5. Formatting Excel Ranges
6. Building Formulas and Functions
7. Manipulating Excel Worksheets
8. Dealing with Excel Workbooks
9. Formatting Excel Workbooks
10. Printing Excel Workbooks
11. Analyzing Excel Data
12. Visualizing Data with Excel Charts
13. Formatting Excel Charts
14. Adding and Editing Worksheet Graphics
15. Collaborating with Other People

The introductory pages of the book state that it is written for people that have never used Excel before. While about fifty percent of the chapters cover topics that any experienced Excel user would know, the remaining chapters cover areas (such as data tables, data validation, scenarios, and charts) that most average or new users are not familiar with.

However, users skipping Excel 2007 and moving from Excel 2003 to Excel 2010 would benefit from this book, no matter the amount of experience they have, to reduce the frustration of moving from the menu/toolbar combination to the ribbon. Although the differences between the 2007 and 2010 versions of Excel are not that great, there should have been a few pages (or an appendix) summarizing the differences to benefit Excel 2007 users.

Excel users should make their decision to purchase this book based on their Excel experience level and the version that they currently use.

You may purchase this book from Amazon

Title: Windows 7: Up and Running: A Quick, Hands-On Introduction (Animal Guide)
Author: Wei-Meng Lee
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 978-0-596-80404-6

According to the back cover,

“This compact book offers the quickest path for Windows users to get started with Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system. You'll get the essential information you need to upgrade or install the system and configure it to fit your activities, along with a tour of Windows 7's features and built-in applications.”

At 177 pages, the book is compact and contains 8 chapters.

1. Installing Windows 7
2. Getting Around Windows 7
3. File Sharing
4. Security
5. Essential Applications
6. Internet Explorer 8
7. Using Windows XP Mode
8. Windows 7 Tips and Tricks

The author's intention is to provide the reader a quick overview of the new features found in Windows 7. The majority of the topics are covered in 2 pages. Most pages include 1 or 2 screen shots to demonstrate the current topic.

Although the lack of nitty-gritty details will disappoint advanced users, this book is not written for Windows newcomers. The author assumes that the reader has some knowledge of either Windows XP or Vista and is comfortable with installing and upgrading an operating system, two tasks that frighten many users. Also, the chapter on using XP Mode gets into computer virtualization, a topic that the average Windows user has a hard time grasping.

You may purchase this book from Amazon