a quick way for evaluating books
I find that examining a techinical book’s index is the most effective and quickest way for evaluating its quality. When I am looking for a book on a certain topic in the bookstore or library, I immidiately go to the index. I rarely look at the contents or bibiliography sections. If the author or publisher skimmed on the index, I move to the next book. Sometimes you find books with very little entries in the index, and that is just unacceptable. There is no excuse for a skinny indexes; the publishing software does it for free. The books just become unusable as a reference. If the index is more substantial, I look for a few keywords that I am interested in; if they are not there, I move on.
I developed this method after using the index in “The Art of Electronics” by Horowitz and Hill. I fondly call it “The Bible” (Gods, please make a 3rd edition.) I refer to it several times a week, even though it is alomst 15 years old! It has the most extensive and useful index I have ever seen AND it is the best technical reference book I have laid my hands on. So there’s the connection: good index is the first clue for a good tech book!
However, don’t judge a book only by its index. For example, Howard Johnson’s and Martin Graham’s”High Speed Digital Design” is an excellent reference book but, sadly, with a mediocure index section.