Press releases

Head First Excel--New from O'Reilly: A Brain-Friendly Guide to Incorporating Excel into Your Daily Workflow

Press release: March 23, 2010

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Sebastopol, CA—Do you use Excel for simple lists, but get confused and frustrated when it comes to actually doing something useful with all that data? Stop tearing your hair out: Head First Excel (O'Reilly Media, $34.99 USD) helps you painlessly move from spreadsheet dabbler to savvy user.

Whether you're completely new to Excel or an experienced user looking to make the program work better for you, this book will help you incorporate Excel into every aspect of your workflow, from a scratch pad for data-based brainstorming to exploratory analysis with PivotTables, optimizing outcomes with Goal Seek, and presenting your conclusions with sophisticated data visualizations.

With Head First Excel, you will learn how to:

  • Organize and clearly present information in a spreadsheet
  • Make calculations across a number of worksheets
  • Change your point of view with sorting, zooming, and filtering
  • Manipulate numerical data to extract and use just what you need
  • Leverage Excel as a grid-based layout program
  • Write formulas for optimal functionality
  • Nest formulas for more complex operations
  • Create sophisticated data visualizations with charts and graphs
  • Use Goal Seek to optimize possible outcomes based on different assumptions
  • Create summaries from large data sets for exploratory data analysis with PivotTables

We think your time is too valuable to waste struggling with new concepts. Using the latest research in cognitive science and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory learning experience, Head First Excel uses a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works, rather than a text-heavy approach that will put you to sleep.

Advance Praise
"Unlock your Excel superpowers with Michael Milton's Head First Excel. Excel's many features can seem intimidating. Michale cuts through the complexity and teaches you to bend Excel to your will."
—Bill Mietelski, Software engineer

"Like other Head First books, Head First Excel is an approachable mix of knowledge, business situations, and humor. Need to create formulas? Need to make reports, charts, or pivot tables? Head First Excel gives you the goods to help you excel at Excel!"
—Ken Bluttman, www.kenbluttman.com

"Head First Excel shows how to fully utilize some of the best features Excel has to offer to improve productivity and data analysis skills."
—Anthony Rose, President, Support Analytics

For a review copy or more information please email peyton@oreilly.com. Please include your delivery address and contact information.

Michael Milton, is a Head First fanatic, and the author of Head First Data Analysis. Until recently, he spent most of time looking at databases to help nonprofit organizations figure out how to make more money. He has a degree in philosophy from New College of Florida and one in religious ethics from Yale University.

Additional Resources:
For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and cover graphic, see: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596807702.

Head First Excel
Michael Milton
ISBN: 9780596807702, 448 pages,
Book Price: $34.99 USD, Ebook Price: $27.99 USD
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000
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