Between 1884 and 1926, such publishers of technological information as Henley Publishing, Audel Publishing, John Wiley, Van Nostrand, McGraw-Hill, and Practical Publications put out dozens and dozens of technical catechisms on a wide variety of technical subjects. Then, around 1926, these publishers ceased releasing texts called catechisms. What made the genre so popular? Did it disappear? The answers to these questions provide a case study of genre adaptation, genre change, and genre persistence within technical communication.

The 1995 appearance of Microsoft's Bob interface directly poses the question of how anthropomorphic the human computer interface design should be. A historical approach to the question offers three important observations to designers: 1) that the impulse to anthropomorphicize technology has been longstanding and has been employed with artifacts other than computers; 2) that the normal evolution of technologies proceeds through an introductory phase during which a culture becomes acclimatized to the new technology; moreover, one of the methods by which cultures have traditionally become acclimatized to new technologies is through anthropomorphization; and 3) the perception of anthropomorphism in the human computer interface has been complicated by the fact that “computers” were, in fact, first people not machines. An historical approach to answering the interface design question posed by Microsoft's Bob interface suggests that designers productively accommodate the longstanding human impulse to anthropomorphicize new technologies.

Victor W. Pagé was either the first or one of the first to make a living primarily as a technical communicator in the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s. His 33 automotive and aviation books published by the Norman W. Henley Company were popular with both the public and critics because they contained timely, comprehensive coverage of novel technology; profuse illustrations; occasional analogies; easy-to-access information; well-established expertise; and sophisticated employment of task orientation. Pagé was able to publish many books quickly because he reused manufacturers' and his own material and methods of organization. He was also able to communicate his novel information effectively because he had both extensive firsthand experience with early automobiles and planes and because he was continually involved in teaching. Victor Pagé's early twentieth-century work demonstrates both what have become mainstream techniques in technical communication and a number of unique rhetorical strategies.

Focusing only on the famous and celebrated has skewed military and political history; focusing only on Oliver Evans, Lauchlan McKay, John W. Griffiths, Joseph Crane, and John H. Patterson could similarly skew our sense of American technical communication in the nineteenth century. Exploring the written work of an ordinary American mechanician of the nineteenth century, William Stillman of Rhode Island, could help balance our appraisal of nineteenth-century American technical communication. Reviewing the writing and graphics in his 1851 Miscellaneous Compositions, as well as his 1839 lock patent and 1836 bank lock instructions, reveals Stillman's ambidextrous abilities in using both text and graphics to communicate; abilities similar to his more famous fellow citizens. However, the three-dimensional qualities of his 1839 patent graphic reveals an unusual ability to mimic the biological methods in which the human eye sees three dimensions.

Writing in the Academic Disciplines, 1870–1990: A Curricular History. David R. Russell. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois UP, 1991. 383 pp. The Politics of Writing Instruction: Postsecondary. Ed. Richard Bullock and John Trimbur. Gen. Ed. Charles Schuster. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 1991. 311 pp. Rereading the Sophists: Classical Rhetoric Refigured. Susan Jarratt. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1991. 154 pp. Gender in the Classroom: Power and Pedagogy. Ed. Susan L. Gabriel and Isaiah Smithson. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1990. 196 pp. Technology Transfer: A Communication Perspective. Ed. Frederick Williams and David V. Gibson. New York: Sage, 1990. 302 pp. Writing Strategies: Reaching Diverse Audiences. Laurel Richardson. Beverly Hills: Sage, 1990. 65 pp. Computers and Writing. Ed. Deborah H. Holdstein and Cynthia L. Selfe. New York: MLA, 1990. 150 pp. Perspectives on Software Documentation: Inquiries and Innovation. Ed. Thomas T. Barker. Amityville: Baywood, 1991. 279 pp. Writing Space: The Computer, Hypertext, and the History of Writing. Jay David Bolter. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1991. 258 pp. Design of Business Communications: The Process and the Product. Elizabeth Tebeaux. New York: Macmillan, 1990. 516 pp.

Technical writers need a historical perspective in order to distinguish between enduring and transitory writing standards, to understand the variety of past styles in building future styles, and to give the profession a better sense of self-identity. To overcome the problems in developing a historical perspective, such as a dearth of artifacts to examine and the peculiarities in rhetorical time and place which undercut attempts to generalize on historical information, the 200 year-old federal collection of patents is offered as a solution. This collection of patents is also very often the only remaining written work of the ordinary mechanic of the nineteenth century, and this collection truly reflects technical not legal, business, or science writing.

During the Iran-Contra hearings the following exchange occurred between Lewis A. Tambs, former Ambassador to Costa Rica, and Sen. George J. Mitchell:

Writing better computer user documentation teaches good documentation practices by means of a process model that reflects current industry procedures. The book is more philosophical than its highly prescriptive and pedantic predecessors, and its emphasis is on writing for the computer industry, not on writing in general with computers thrown in as an afterthought. Its major audience is data processing professionals, most specifically practicing technical writers, information planners, and writing managers, although the book might well find its way into college classrooms in some of the burgeoning masters' programs in technical writing.

Criteria are established that can be used to evaluate any book that promises to explain how one should go about writing documentation. Eight new books on the topic of computer user documentation were published in late 1984 and the first half of 1985. Only those new books that are either better than the books that have appeared previously or that offer something new and important are recommended. Comparing these books, the author considers the qualities that would constitute a perfect book on computer user documentation and judges which of those available come closest to the mark.

Wilbert Galitz directs a seminar on applying communication and psychology principles to screen format design, and this book is the manual used for the course. While the book doesn't disclose many innovative ideas, it does pull together some of the best of recent research in human factors and cognitive psychology, the behavioral disciplines, and people-machine interfaces.

In the March 1983 issue of the TRANSACTIONS, I reviewed four books intended to instruct writers on how to develop computer documentation. No sooner did the review appear than I discovered another book in this genre by Richard Zaneski. Mr. Zaneski's book does not cause me to reconsider the earlier pair of books that I described as best buys (Documentation Development Methodology by Sandra Pakin and Associates and The DP Professional's Guide to Writing Effective Technical Communication by J. Van Duyn). In fact, I don't recommend that you buy this book. I do, however, suggest that you borrow a copy and take notes on the 30 to 40 pages that are worthwhile.

This material obviously is not available in your local book store but copies are available by writing to the military address or, more cheaply, through interlibrary loan.

Occasionally, it's nice to be wrong. I opened this book reluctantly, fearing that it might be one of those collections by which a profession self-consciously asserts its coming of age and academic legitimacy. What I found instead was one of the best (i.e., stimulating) collections of essays about technical and scientific communication to appear so far.

This collection of thirty-six articles exposes the problem and the promise of historical research in technical writing. The central problem is that historical research in technical writing has too often been focused only on celebrated authors or scientists as technical writers. The central promise contained in some very recent essays is that historical research in technical communications is beginning to consider the slow evolution of technical communication taking place across a broad spectrum of both celebrated and uncelebrated writers. This historical approach, though more difficult to carry out, is immensely more accurate and meaningful.

These four new books can be divided into basically two groups. The Skees and Van Duyn books are reference handbooks that give the reader a generalized view of good documentation. These books claim to enable the data processing documentation writer to handle any and all problems that can arise in the area of writing. They begin with a section on the mechanics of writing and some considerations of general document development, and they conclude with a quick overview of how to apply these general considerations in some specific documentation situations such as reports, procedures, manuals, proposals, or technical articles for publication.

Mail survey research exists which can provide guidelines in the development of two-year college technical communications curriculum. This paper describes what surveys exist; where they have been reported; and what they have found. Close examination reveals that there are areas of research saturation and areas of research deficiency. By developing new types of questions to cover these areas of research deficiency, future researchers will be able to analyze vital new areas of knowledge.

Many current teaching practices in undergraduate technical communications are insensitive to students' career needs because they are based on mistaken notions concerning writing and the process of communication. The specific problem areas in current teaching practices include: the lack of emphasis on rewriting and on the cooperative element of technical communication, the overreliance on proscriptive strictures in graphics instruction, and the undue emphasis on large-group oratory in oral communications. Academic teaching methods need to be better informed by the practices and procedures of professional technical communicators in order to correct their mistaken notions and to more effectively meet students' career needs.