Review by Choice Review
This book claims to bridge the gap between foundational research and applications in communicating technical information. Unfortunately, this book seems too theoretical to accomplish any practical goals related to the job of a technical communicator. The treatise is "about" communications rather than details for effective communication. For example, the chapter titled "What Do Technical Communicators Need to Know about Writing?" focuses on research that included administering questionnaires probing the nature of writing, genres produced, and rhetorical strategies. The writing is sophisticated, as can be seen from one example in this chapter. The introduction describes a "four-phase heuristic" for learning about technical communications, stating that "on a conceptual level, the heuristic emerges from the recursive relationship between practice and theory...." A beginning technical writer will have difficulty following the argument. In spite of these problems, the book is well written, and it assembles the works of 29 contributors, covering topics ranging from the theoretical aspects of technical communications and ethics to legal matters. This reviewer was impressed with the book, but had difficulty reconciling the actual content with the title that implies problem solving. Summing Up: Recommended. Researchers/faculty and professionals. M. S. Roden emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
