Inside the Publishing Revolution: The Adobe Story

A pleasure to read, both for the inspiration coming from reading about people being very successful being idealistic, and from learning about the history of the Desktop Publishing revolution.

We at the Designer's Bookshelf have just awarded this book "THE BOOK OF THE YEAR" award for 2002. These awards are given by the editors and staff at the Design Bookshelf, DT & G Magazine, and the Graphic Design network as top choices for all those involved in the design, publishing and visual arts fields.

The only real flaw in this book is I want more. Adobe's story is fascinating, and I could probably read a detailed history of each product without being bored. (And I would have loved to have found out why Adobe never made an Illustrator 5 or 6 for the PC).

I got the book in the morning and started reading right away, skipped lunch and finished. Short read you might say... not at all; the text and the images are excellent and the book reads like a novel (reason why I skipped lunch). What a story!It answered many questions that came up in my 10+ years of experience as a graphic design professional. Why Adobe this and how Adobe that.The great thing about the book that it made me re-live my experiences; the advent of the mac and the LaserWriter, early releases of the software (it is quite touching to see pictures of the first, say, Illustrator), the successes and the failure the company went through. Those of us (graphic designers) who have pasted photostated type on the blue outline grid by hand will relate.The book is about what and how things happened to allow us (graphic designers) to work the way we do today; it is, however, also about how Adobe changed the publishing world and global communication altogether.Thumbs up on this one. Thank you Pamela Pfiffner for a great piece of research and writing. Thank you Adobe for the perseverance in bringing it all together towards the age of Network Publishing.

Anyone who uses a computer to design graphics, create printed documents, edit Web graphics, make movies and animations, or just type a letter should read this book.While most people recognize the contributions Apple and Microsoft made to computers, few realize how much Adobe was right in there with those other companies.This book tells that story--and does so with humor, behind-the-scenes gossip, and inside information. What were the "Font wars" of 1989? What were Adobe's original plans for Photoshop? What was the original purpose for the Acrobat PDF format?Even better the quotes from industry greats. What did Steve Jobs think the first time he saw PostScript added to a printer? How did designers such as Roger Black and Louis Fishauf feel about products such as Illustrator and Photoshop?The book is filled with tons of candid photos of those early days. You'll gasp as you see the much-younger versions of today's famous speakers and industry giants. My favorite is the extremely young Steve Jobs (in a tie and jacket!) at the debut of the PostScript LaserWriter.The author must have been given quite a bit of leeway with the writing because she also describes those times Adobe didn't get it exactly right. What were the mistakes Adobe made in their first Web page-creation program? What was the problem with the original distribution of Acrobat Reader? And who was the only person at Adobe who could easily use the original Illustrator Pen tool?And in an age of trade paperbacks, this book is a physical joy--a beautifully bound embossed-hardcover book with a varnish-coated dust jacket. The inside pages are exquisitely designed, with full-color photos throughout the book.This is the sort of book you pick up and read, then pick up again, then again, then again. There's always one more little tidbit to laugh or smile over.