A few years ago there were no books on information technology and business, now there are a great many. To add to that flow calls for courage and judgment on the part of both a potential author and publisher. Andrew Doswell and Plenum Press are justified in bringing this work into the market. The main reason is that Andrew Doswell has brought to the work some simple yet formidable attributes. The first of these is that he knows what he is talking about. He was trained as an electrical engineer; he then was employed in business, drawing on and fortifying that training, where he moved into an administrative position. Later still he moved into teaching, first in Ireland, then in Scotland, but while employed in education he has not become an academic recluse. On the contrary, he has continued to maintain his links with business, doing so by engaging in both research and consultancy. Within the University he has been at the forefront of our thrust into office automation and office information systems.