<VV> why constant newbie questions? corvair literature criticism

[kenpepke at juno.com]

Hey Bob:
Yes, you are an author / writer and as such you are a man of words.  And you do a very good job with your books.  Not everyone is so blessed.  I will bet there some readers of your response that did not realize there is a difference between 'index' and 'table of contents.'  I am far from being a man of words so I recognize an index, while it may be the long way around, does provide help to those still struggling with the basics. 

I observed years ago, most service manuals are written to a level of expertise to the point that a reader with the ability to understand the book probably does not need said book.  Your work has greatly helped bring the expertise requirement down to a more usable level for most.  Still, there are many Corvair enthusiasts that find a need for micro instructions hence the 'newbie' sounding questions.

Ken P 



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BobHelt at aol.com wrote:

Hi Ray,
I don't know the answers to all of your questions, but as an author, here's 
 my take on things.

**********************************************

In a message dated 11/26/2009 6:39:00 A.M. Mountain Standard Time,  
ravensong13 at verizon.net writes:

The  Corvair Basics book is fantastic.. and a must for any Vair owner... 
but why  doesnt it have an index!?!?!?!?   but please include an  index!!!



Hi Ray,
I don't know the answers to all of your questions, but as an author, here's 
 my take on things.
 
As to the need for an index, in my many years for book reading and info  
searching I have NEVER found an index to be helpful. Despite looking in the  
index(es) under many different words, searching for a single topic, I have  
regularly and continually been disappointed. In addition, when trying to use 
an  index in a typical book I usually get to follow many dead-end searches 
in the  book because that isn't what I was looking for. So I do not credit 
indexes for  being especially helpful. Indexes leave a lot to be desired in my 
opinion and  don't provide much direction to a particular topic.
 
BUT, I believe that a complete TABLE OF CONTENTS usually provides the  
directions to a needed topic better and faster than trying to see what word the  
author used for a topic search. That is why my TOCs are long and fairly 
complete  in my books (Basics included) and why I purposefully do not include 
an  index.
 
Now if these guys (thanks Bob  Helt!) would write a complete shop manual 
I'd be interested!....
 
I notice, Ray, that you do not have a copy listed of my "big" book THE  
CLASSIC CORVAIR. How come? Of course I may be biased, but that book is the ONE  
you are asking for. Well, at least it is pretty well down the path of 
including  the content you seem to want. It covers a LOT of info not available 
elsewhere  but may be deficient in micro instructions for beginners. It 
contains a lot of  detailed technical information not available elsewhere.
 
I hope that this helps...Please reply if you have questions.
 
Regards,
Bob Helt
 

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