For Dummies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For Dummies is a prolific series of instructional books which are intended to present non-intimidating guides for readers new to the various topics covered. Despite the title, their publisher takes pains to emphasize that the books are not literally for dummies. The subtitle for every book is "A Reference for the Rest of Us!"
The books are an example of a media franchise, consistently sporting a distinctive cover — usually yellow and black with a triangular-headed cartoon figure known as "Dummies Man", and an informal, hand-writing style logo. Prose is simple and direct; bold icons, such as a piece of string tied around an index finger, indicate particularly important passages.
Almost all Dummies books are organized around sections, which are groups of related chapters. Sections are almost always preceded by a Rich Tennant comic that refers to some part of the subject under discussion. Sometimes the same Tennant drawing reappears in another Dummies book with a new caption[1].
Another constant in the Dummies series is "The Part of Tens", a section at the end of the book where lists of ten items are published. They are usually resources for further study and sometimes also include amusing bits of information that don't fit readily elsewhere.
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[edit] History
The For Dummies series began during 1991 with DOS for Dummies, written by Dan Gookin and published by IDG Books. The book was created in response to a lack of beginner-friendly materials on using DOS. While initially the series focused on software and technology topics, it later branched out to more general-interest titles. The series is now published by John Wiley & Sons Publishing, which acquired Hungry Minds (the new name for IDG Books circa 2000) during 2001.
[edit] Expansions and alternate versions
Several related series have published, including Dummies 101, with step-by-step tutorials in a large-format book (now discontinued); More ... for Dummies, which are essentially sequels to the first ...For Dummies book on the subject; For Dummies Quick Reference, which is a condensed alphabetical reference to the subject.
The For Dummies series has been a world-wide success with editions in English,
- Bulgarian (for Dummies),
- Chinese (天才3班),
- Croatian (za neznalice),
- Dutch (voor Dummies),
- Estonian (Võhikutele),
- Finnish (for Dummies),
- French (pour Les Nuls),
- German (für Dummies),
- Greek (για Πρωταρηδες),
- Icelandic (Fyrir kjána),
- Italian (per Negati),
- Lithuanian (žaliems),
- Persian (به زبان ساده)
- Polish (dla opornych),
- Portuguese (para totós),
- Portuguese (Brazil) (para leigos),
- Romanian (pentru tonţi, which is a clever translation: toţi means all, whereas tonţi means dummies),
- Russian (для "чайников" - dlya "chainikov", see also chainik),
- Spanish (Para Tontos)
- Serbian (za Neupućene).
- Slovenian (za telebane).
[edit] See also
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to..., a similar series of how-to books from Alpha Books.
- Teach Yourself, another similar series published by Hodder Headline.
- The Original Computer Idiot. PC User's Guide.. By Martin Duran
