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John Muir's book is indeed a classic! Some twenty years ago and from being a complete novice about mechanics, I completely rebuilt three VW air-cooled engines using that book alone, and even for a time made a small living out of doing VW maintenance work for others.
Alas, I no longer have a copy and hadn't even thought of it since getting into technical communication. I'd love to compare how he did such a great job with the theories they teach us on my MA tech comm course. I certainly agree that a large part of the confidence his book instilled in me was down to his style.
Interesting thought I'll have to look into further. Thanks for reminding me of that excellent manual!
> Steve Janoff wrote
> ...there was a thread on good tech writing of old, and I remember the book by John Muir was mentioned, on "Keeping Your Volkswagen Alive." I never read it, merely perused it, but I know what a classic it was. You can't write that kind of work anymore, at least not as a tech writer -- and maybe you never could, unless you went to the after market.
>http://applehelpwriter.com
>
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