ISBN  1-882114-71-X  Price £40 approximately
Bil Lewis,  Dan LaLiberte and the GNU Manual Group
36 chapters ,  6 appendices and two different indices which give you the full works

Chapter list

Introduction

    1. Introduction (in detail)
    2. Lisp Data Types
    3. Numbers
    4. Strings and Characters
    5. Lists
    6. Sequences, Arrays and Vectors
    7. Symbols
    8. Evaluation
    9. Control Structures
    10. Variables
    11. Functions
    12. Macros
    13. Loading
    14. Byte Compilation
    15. Debugging Lisp Programs
    16. Reading and Printing Lisp Objects
    17. Minibuffers
    18. Command Loop
    19. Keymaps
    20. Major and Minor Modes
    21. Documentation
    22. Files
    23. Backups and Auto-Saving
    24. Buffers
    25. Windows
    26. Frames
    27. Positions
    28. Markers
    29. Text
    30. Searching and Matching
    31. Syntax Tables
    32. Abbrevs and Abbrev Expansion
    33. Processes
    34. Operating System Interface
    35. Emacs Display
    36. Customising the Calendar and Diary

Appendix A
          Tips and Standards
Appendix B
         GNU Emacs Internals
Appendix C
         Standard Errors
Appendix D
         Buffer-Local Variables
Appendix E
         Standard Keymaps
Appendix F
         Standard Hooks
 

Synopsis

There isn't really any way that you can review a two volume reference of this sort.  It's a bit like trying to give a crit of British Army regulations.  Most of us know that this particular reference manual is like the bible of the Free Software Foundation.  There are other FSF publications which are just as good but this particular set have  a significance which is similar the worlds first aircraft or transatlantic sailing ship.

Review

Don't forget to read the GNU General Public Licence in the front of the book .   Most MS Windows users wet themselves when they see this. .... and.........  Who knows  ??.  Big Brother may be watching your reading habits and making notes ?  We wouldn't want to miss a publicity opportunity would we ?

Right from page one  (volume 1) through to page 384 (volume 2) I get the strong feeling that someone is in charge somewhere.  It could be my computer that someone else is in charge of ?  There are O'Reilly books which have a similar theme but they are nowhere near as thorough as the GNU volumes which go into greater depth than any other IT books that are available.

I have always been aware that Emacs Lisp is a bit of a specialised language.  Only a few people have heard of it or know anything about it (at least in the UK).  This being the case it's very useful to be able to get hold of a publication which is as comprehensive as this one is.   It even gives a few clues about what to read next.  The index in the back also gives a reference to each command and tells you which page to go to.  This is extremely useful when you are stuck in the middle of a programming epic or having an argument with a team of people over which way to go with a project next.

If you do need to use Emacs and a lot of people do then I would recommend that you buy the books.  There are many topics that are covered in these pages which are not seen anywhere else.   BTW...... on the back of every FSF book there are the words .   All funds raised from the sale of this book are used to support the development of free software and free documentation.
 

Review by Richard Ibbotson