Yes, it was 20 years ago that I wrote DOS For Dummies.

Actually, I wrote DOS For Dummies in August of 1991. It took me three weeks to write most of the text.

Now I’m not really that fast. The truth is that there really wasn’t much to write.

The original notion of the For Dummies titles was that it was only the information you need to know and then get on with your life. You didn’t want to know why. You didn’t want to know the history. You just wanted to know the command, trick, or feature to get the job done, then you’d close the book.

Only the first four Chapters of DOS For Dummies consisted of what I felt were the core of the book. Those chapters covered the key issues that people had using DOS. The rest of the book was fluff. Indeed, the publisher contacted me after three weeks and told me that the book was too short. So I spent more time writing additional chapters, including lots of chapters with lists of ten items, which eventually became the Parts of Tens that now appears in all For Dummies titles.

You can read more about how DOS For Dummies came about, as well as read about the various rumors and falsehoods that went around regarding the origin of the For Dummies series, by clicking here.

The series actually picked up in 1992. I believe the second book was David Pogue’s Mac For Dummies. That was followed by PCs For Dummies, and a host of other titles.

Eventually, the publisher started an annual sales event, which they called Dummies Month. Originally it was in April (if I recall). Now it’s in March. Whatever.

You can read more about Dummies Month at dummies.com. Click here to read information about getting a $5 discount on your favorite For Dummies book.