Unlike many other books on technical writing, The Technical Writer’s Handbookis written by a practicing scientist who screens hundreds of manuscripts each year. It is directed to scientists, engineers, and others who want to improve their writing and communication. The Technical Writer’s Handbookdiffers from similar books. It teaches that technical writing—although it has its own special requirements—is no different from ordinary writing and should be written with short, clear sentences and in the active voice. A technical paper is written for the reader, not the writer, and should tell a story to a reader not already familiar with the work. The book is written in two parts: The first part is an introduction to technical and report writing; it provides a sort of prescription for writing and organizing technical papers of all kinds. The second part is written in dictionary format and contains entries on grammar, style, and organization, as well as entries on topics such as common errors, resume writing, metric units, jargon, conference proceedings, figures and tables, and slides. An exhaustive list of cross references reveals related topics quickly and easily.