GET ME TO THE CHURCH ONLINE ($19.95)

This user-friendly guide is for all mainline church leaders who want to get connected to the Christian community online but have no idea where to begin. Simply pop the disk (included) into your computer and follow the on-screen directions. Then, use the book as a guide to start exploring the infinite resources available on the Web.

• "Over the past couple of years, I've read and reviewed dozens of instructional Internet books: guides aimed at beginners, complicated upgrade manuals for advanced users, and just about everything in between. A few of these books were real gems - thorough, well thought-out, cleanly written guides to getting online. Most of them, mind you, were just not ready for prime time.
  "So Get Me to the Church Online is a pleasant surprise. Like most do-it-yourself-online books, it follows a pretty standard format. The first few chapters cover finding an Internet service provider (ISP), configuring software, using a modem, and getting started with search engines, and then a longer section offers a series of web site reviews.
  "The instructional section moves slowly, but it's very thorough. Step by step, it explains what an ISP is, how to find one, and how to evaluate prices. It explains exactly what information (DNS addresses, POP hosts, and so on) users will need from their new provider. Then - and this alone makes Get Me to the Church Online worth a look - it explains what all those cryptic numbers mean. Other steps, like installing software and sending your first e-mail, also get the full treatment. The whole thing has a friendly, hand-holding tone that will make some readers bristle, but that most newbies will be grateful for.
  "The review section is also good. Cheryl Perry knows that the book is written for the ecumenical community and focuses on inclusive, friendly sites. This leaves out conservative Christianity - a good chunk of the religious Web - but it's a conscious decision, not an oversight.
  "Get Me to the Church Online is a remarkable book. While aimed at a specific audience, it's so well executed that anyone new to the Net would do well to check it out." - Bret Dawson, Quill & Quire

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• "I am most impressed with this book. I ordered it for the public library for which I work...this is a remarkable resource, very eclectic - just the kind of thing a public library needs...I work with a number of community groups and would like to inform them of the intellectual resources found in this book." - Gail Benjafield, Centennial Library

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  "'Set the up waymarks, make three high leaps; set thine heart to towards the highway,' said the prophet Jeremiah. If you are a Christian looking for waymarks on the information highway, this ecumenical resource offers a heap of good advice. The book is a first-rate resource." - Steve Pitt, The Canadian Book Review Annual