Серия книг «…Для чайников» «For Dummies» – обзор и история

Series of instructional/reference books

For Dummies is an extensive series of instructional reference books which are intended to present non intimidating guides for readers new to the various topics covered. The series has been a worldwide success with editions in numerous languages. The books are an example of a media franchise, consistently sporting a distinctive cover—usually yellow and black with a triangular headed cartoon figure known as the "Dummies Man", and an informal, blackboard style logo. Prose is simple and direct; bold icons, such as a piece of string tied around an index finger, are placed in the margin to indicate particularly important passages.

Almost all Dummies books are organized around sections called "parts", which are groups of related chapters. Parts are almost always preceded by a Rich Tennant comic that refers to some part of the subject under discussion, though the comics were discontinued in 2012. Sometimes the same Tennant drawing reappears in another Dummies book with a new caption. Another constant in the Dummies series is "The Part of Tens", a section at the end of the books where lists of 10 items are included. They are usually resources for further study and sometimes also include amusing bits of information that do not fit readily elsewhere.

Several related series have been published, including Dummies 101, with step by step tutorials in a large format book (now discontinued); More  for Dummies, which are essentially sequels to the first  For Dummies book on the subject; and For Dummies Quick Reference, which is a condensed alphabetical reference to the subject. A larger All in One Desk Reference format offers more comprehensive coverage of the subject, normally running about 750 pages. Also, some books in the series are smaller and do not follow the same formatting style as the others. Wiley has also launched an interactive online course with Learnstreet based on its popular book, Java for Dummies, 5th edition. A spin off board game, Crosswords for Dummies, was produced in the late 1990s. The game is similar to Scrabble, but instead of letter tiles, players draw short strips of cardboard containing pre built English words. The words vary in length from three to seven letters, with more points acquired for playing longer words. Another board game, SAT Game For Dummies, is used in SAT preparation. A Chess for Dummies was made, a black and yellow chessboard with a picture of a piece, along with a summary of how the piece moves, printed its starting positions, although there is a book with the same name. In 2009, French publisher Anuman Interactive obtained the digital exploitation rights and launched many applications based on the For Dummies collection, such as Home Design 3D For Dummies and History For Dummies.