I don't know about the structure of the books (I have to admit to never
having bought or fully read any of them) so I cannot comment on that, but I
would point out that John's books are not meant for the likes of you and I,
they are aimed straight at the mass-market, looking to generate as many
sales as possible by teaching aspects of Excel to people that have a desire
to learn, but do not necessarily have the sort of background that they can
do it on their own.

I recommended John's book, because I have leafed through many in bookstores,
and that is the only one that I found presented anything other than really
basic information. I agree it falls well short of discussing advanced
techniques such as the one we discussed back on 25th June, and a book on
that topic would be great (I have thousands of pages of notes, but not the
discipline I feel to create such a tome), but unless you are John
Walkenbach, book writing is not a lucrative job, the rewards are nowhere
near commensurate to the effort involved.

BTW, John has written loads of books, far more than the 2 you have. And I am
sure we will be seeing 2007 versions very soon.

--
---
HTH

Bob

(change the xxxx to gmail if mailing direct)


wrote in message
ups.com...
phocused wrote:
"Bob Phillips" wrote:
There is really only one book on formulae worth its salt IMO, and that
is
John Walkenbach's Excel 2003 Formulas (sic!).

Thanks for the help, reccomendations.
I have gone for Bob's suggestion.

And please post back with your impression of the book after you have
read it and tried to use it for a while.

I have both of Walkenbach's Excel books. (Well, he might have more
than two. Unfortunately, they are both packed away during remodeling,
so I cannot check the titles.) They are certainly full of useful
information. But I am very disappointed in their organization,
presentation and completeness. After reading the VBA book nearly a
year ago, I never can find anything when I go to look up something that
I "know" is in the book. And as I recall, things were not presented in
a "logical" sequence in the first place.

I have used the Excel Formulas book only sparingly, having learned
Excel on my own very easily based on years of experience with
pioneering spreadsheet products. But it, too, suffers as a reference,
IMHO.

Having said all that, I should add that I am a professional computer
programmer (post grad degree) with many decades of experience in system
programming in another part of the industry. Arguably, perhaps my
expectations are too high. In fact, I am sure they are, considering
the seemingly overwhelming good reviews of Walkenbach's books.

PS: On the other hand, I have yet to find a book that presents Excel
and VBA programming any better. I think the MS industry is severely
lacking in quality texts. At least, I have yet to stumble upon
anything really good.