Grace, class and subtlety in a manual

A really nice review of impressive, if idiosyncratic technical writing is David Carkeet’s “The Muse of Mopar”:

I have fallen in love. I have found grace, class, and subtlety, along with an intuitive appreciation for who I am, in a place where I would never have expected to find it. I am speaking, of course, of The New Dodge Caravan Owner’s Manual…

The article originally appeared in the St. Louis magazine. It was reprinted in “The Vocabula Review” of March 2001, where it’s still available for subscribers. The rest of us can find it here.

Do you know any appreciations, serious or ironic, of user manuals? Please leave a comment if you do!

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