As a computer application and trainer, I frequently talk about what self help and reference materials are useful for the beginner.
Microsoft has their own publications called Step-by-Step. These include:
- Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, 2010
- Microsoft Word 2003, 2007, 2010
- Microsoft Excel 2003, 2007, 2010
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2003, 2007, 2010
- Microsoft Access 2003, 2007, 2010
- Microsoft Outlook 2003, 2007, 2010
- Microsoft Publisher 2003, 2007, 2010
These books are good as a how-to book, as well as a training manual.
The other books, which are good for answering questions are the “Dummies” books and again they have all of the titles: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Office.
Here are the ones that I recommend: