CONTEXTS

Book Reviewsreally doesn’t look ‘right,’ somehow” (p. 105) does nothelp you understand how to avoid problems in yourown graphics. Still, the chapter includes useful advicethat supports the goals of the book.Unfortunately, at this point The Right Graph veersfrom offering guidance on designing effective graphsto providing tips that are both basic and general,sometimes in chapters that don’t really belong in thebook. For example, the chapter “Getting the MostOut of Your Software” includes pointers such asusing keyboard shortcuts and copying and pasting,reminding you that “using the mouse to select optionsfrom a menu is slooooooooow!” (p. 141). Similarly, thechapter on organizing and giving a presentation offerslittle detail about designing your slides. Likewise, thechapter on perspective seems an odd inclusion, giventhe authors’ stance that “perspective is rarely needed in atechnical drawing” (p. 297).Discussions of software include an interestingbut nonessential brief history of the spreadsheet,instructions for making graphs in Excel and QuattroPro behave, and importing and improving those graphsin PowerPoint and Presentations. Users of Excel andQuattro Pro are likely to find the textual repetitionbetween chapters annoying. In contrast, the chapter“Fixes Using Graphics Programs” discusses principlesinstead of providing details for each software package,allowing the authors to cover more ground in lessspace, an approach that would also have been effectivein the preceding chapters on software. Finally, thechapter on file formats concludes that converting filesis generally time-consuming and imperfect, a fact withwhich I expect most technical communicators arealready familiar.These issues notwithstanding, the book containsa wealth of advice and helpful visual examples (someduplicated on color plates that make the visuals bothclearer and more attractive), although, ironically, someof the figures are pixilated or difficult to read. Almost allchapters also include exercises, which, although perhapsmore at home in a textbook, are potentially useful if youwant to practice applying the material before you workwith your own data. Unfortunately, the lack of solutionsdiminishes the helpfulness of the exercises. Eachchapter also includes a bulleted list that gives readers aquick summary of the key points of the chapter; oddly,the 15-page final chapter reiterates these summaries.In the end, I appreciate Kirkham and Dumas’conversational style and use of humor, which maketheir manual considerably more user-friendly than most.At the same time, I find myself wishing that The RightGraph were briefer and more focused, bypassing someof the quirky anecdotes and extraneous material to getto the essentials more quickly.Eva BrumbergerEva Brumberger teaches professional communication at VirginiaTech. She has worked as a technical writer/editor on both a fulltimeand a freelance basis. Her research interests include visualcommunication, international communication, and pedagogy.She is a member of STC and was president of the BorderNetwork Chapter.Technical and ProfessionalCommunication: Integrating Text andVisualsDolores Lehr. 2009. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing/R. PullinsCompany. [ISBN 978-1-58510-257-0. 212 pages, including index. US$36.95(softcover).]As expressed in the title,Dolores Lehr has a specificpurpose for her book.Her approach to technicalcommunication is to treattext and graphics as acomprehensive unit ratherthan let graphics play secondfiddle to the text.Lehr follows throughwith this concept by beinggenerous with graphics, usingthem in conjunction with text to explain importantaspects of technical communication, features of specificdocuments, and even the mundane side of writing.Technical and Professional Communication: IntegratingText and Visuals is divided into four parts: “PlanningDocuments,” “Composing Text and GeneratingGraphics,” “Integrating Text and Graphics,” and“Appendices.” Each chapter begins with objectives andends with a usable checklist and exercises that reinforcethe content.340 Technical Communication l Volume 57, Number 3, August 2010