For Dummies
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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For Dummies is an extensive 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." To date, over 1,700 For Dummies titles have been published. The series has been a world-wide success with editions in numerous other languages.
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, are placed in the margin to indicate particularly important passages, so "the rest of us" can find where the writing on the page is.
Almost all Dummies books are organized around sections called "parts," which are groups of related chapters. Parts 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, but based on the group of readers, it is not expected to be noticed.Template:Fact
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.
History
The For Dummies series began during 1991 with DOS for Dummies, written by Dan Gookin and published by IDG Books. The book became popular due 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, which acquired Hungry Minds (the new name for IDG Books as of 2000) in early 2001.
Expansions and alternate versions
Several related series have been published, including Dummies 101, with step-by-step tutorials in a large-format book, because the author realized that most people who need these books have difficulty with smaller text (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. A larger All-in-One Desk Reference format offers more comprehensive coverage of the subject, normally running about 750 pages. As well, some books in this series are smaller and do not follow the same formatting style as the others.
See also
- Complete Idiot's Guides, a similar series of how-to books from Alpha Books.
- Teach Yourself, another similar series published by Hodder Headline.
- SAT Game For Dummies, a board game used in SAT preparation that is based on the ... For Dummies line.
