Kurt J. Schmucker
The complete book of Lisa
Harper & Row, 1984
335 pages
0-0666-9008-0

This 1984’s book explains the ideas behind Lisa’s GUI and its seven applications. Since mouse-operated computers were a rarity 20 years ago, the author describes everything with a great level of detail – complete with screenshots of most menus, crucial dialog boxes, mouse pointers, etc. When read today, it is a fascinating testimony to where we started and how far have we gone. It’s unbelievable how many things were already there in Lisa’s system, but even more astonishing how often users had to put up with system’s limitations. The book also contains basic information about Apple Lisa, as well as tear-in-the-eye conclusion about Lisa’s future.

The following paragraphs are quoted verbatim from the back cover:

Here is the first comprehensive and truly helpful book on Apple’s revolutionary Lisa computer, written by an acknowledged authority on mouse-driven computer systems.

Written in plain English, The complete book of Lisa explains how the Lisa is used and how it can simplify the world of computing for those who don’t have the time or the need to learn the intricacies of most other personal computers.

The complete book of Lisa covers thoroughly all of Lisa’s special characteristics and applications. It includes:

	Detailed examination of Lisa’s iconic, multi-window user interface;
	Careful elucidation of the nature and use of each of Lisa’s application programs – LisaWrite, LisaGraph, LisaDraw, LisaCalc, LisaProject, and others – and how to integrate them;
	Presentation of several application scenarios – from report generation to a monthly operating budget – in which the unique capabilities of the Lisa are exercised to their fullest extent;
	Analysis of Lisa’s future applications, including networks, LisaMail, applications packages, and programmability;
	Up-to-date information and reviews of Apple and third-party Lisa hardware and software;
	Discussion of the important relationship between the Lisa and the Macintosh, including the details of the Macintosh emulator available for the Lisa;
	All the basics of installing and operating the Lisa, from power requirements to use and care of floppy disks;

The power, versatility, and ease of use of the Apple Lisa are changing the way people view and use computers; The complete book of Lisa is your complete guide to this exciting new world of personal computing.

Kurt J. Schmucker is a mathematician and senior computer scientist at the United States Department of Defense. The author of Fuzzy Sets, Natural Language Computations and Risk Analysis and numerous magazine articles on computing, he has also taught electrical engineering and computer science at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.