The “for Mere Mortals” Philosophy
The philosophy behind this series of books encompasses these three ideas:
· Provide information on a given subject in a clear and methodical manner.
· Present the information in a manner that the reader can digest easily and efficiently, and in a style that respects the reader’s intellect and capacity for learning.
· Provide a foundation of knowledge that the reader can then build upon and expand.
The content in a for Mere Mortals book is practical and quite conceptual in nature, and serves as a starting point for the book’s particular subject. Once the reader finishes reading the book, he or she can then move on to other books that provide a more detailed and expanded analysis of the subject. For example, after a reader finishes reading Database Design for Mere Mortals, she can then move on to a book such as the Handbook of Relational Database Design, by Candace Fleming and Barbara von Halle.
A few of the for Mere Mortals books present their subject matter in a generic manner so that the reader can apply the knowledge he gains from the book to a wide range and variety of situations. This approach is particularly advantageous because it places few constraints on the manner in which the reader can use this knowledge.