Arthur Naiman

Arthur Naiman has written, co-authored, edited, designed and/or published more than thirty nonfiction books. In each of those categories, his books have sold over a million copies.

He's best known for The Macintosh Bible, a compendium of tips, tricks, shortcuts and product reviews for early versions of the Macintosh computer. He created, designed, edited and published the first four editions, and and wrote most of the material in them as well. The Macintosh Bible received many awards and favorable reviews, sold 875,000 copies worldwide and raised the bar for clarity and accessibility in computer books. It must be the only one that’s ever been described, in an unsolicited reader’s comment, as being “better than sex,” or that a reviewer said was “impossible to read without laughing out loud.”

Naiman started two publishing companies and launched the Real Story Series—short, readable books on political subjects from a leftist perspective, including four by Noam Chomsky and two by Gore Vidal. Of the fourteen titles in the series, more than 900,000 copies are in print, in English and eighteen other languages.

Naiman’s first book, Every Goy’s Guide to Common Jewish Expressions, was also a bestseller. Henny Youngman called it “fantastic” and Carroll O’Connor (who created the character of Archie Bunker on All in the Family) said it “should be a part of every goy’s library.” Another early bestseller was Introduction to WordStar.

After living in Paris and traveling in Europe, Naiman settled in New York City and then in the Bay Area. He taught English, remedial reading, social studies, biology, art and other subjects in high and middle schools, as well as self-contained classrooms of emotionally disturbed students. During the same period, he worked as an advertising copywriter, an experience he credits with teaching him how to write, design and think visually.

Naiman was born in Chicago. He graduated from Brandeis University and later earned a master’s degree in Special Education from Bank Street College of Education. He currently lives in Tucson.