Head First Excel: A learner's guide to spreadsheets

Head First Series

by Michael G. Milton

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 Head First Excel 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.

Genres: Technology, Computers

438 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Beyto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is good for someone who wants to learn to use excel

[Jean-Luc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had the unfortunate experience of having to use Excel @ my job for something more complicated than the simplest of spreadsheets... I was able to do that just fine, but I was curious how many of my problems were self-inflicted. If I knew more, would I be able to do more?

The short answer is: no. The reason is the people I interact with have not read this book, so they have no idea how to make Excel do their work for them. As a result, everything ends up being harder than it has to be.

The book is worth its price simply for its lucid explanation of pivot tables. Everything else is nice to know because I'm sure it might come up once or twice, but it's hardly necessary.

The book doesn't say this explicitly, but it's for Excel 2007. Users of Excel 2003 will be able to follow most of it, but if you get stuck anywhere, it's probably because you hit a 2007-specific feature. 2010 users should have no problems. Google Docs users should just pony up for a copy of Excel; it's worth it.

[Faith Fielder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of five books I tried out on learning Excel, this was the best. I didn't have enough background to get the most out of it, but it gave me an outline of what Excel can do.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good beginner's guide, if a bit over-the-top with the clever graphics.