Conceived in 1946, Russel M. Walter (aka
Russy-poo) is primarily known as the notorious self-published author of the hilarious and incredibly useful book
The Secret Guide to Computers. The title is entering its 27th edition (2001) having been initially published in 1977. Containing explanations from what
ASCII means to how to pronounce
ASCII (
ass key) to explaining programming languages such as
C and
C++,
The Secret Guide has become an essential part of many a computer
nerd's library.
Walter received a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Dartmouth College in 1969. Subsequently he obtained a Master's degree in math education from Harvard University. He apparently pursued a PhD in mathematics from Wesleyan University without obtaining that credential.
He has taught at Wellesley and Wesleyan. At Northeastern University he taught "Graphic Science." Early in his career he also plied his trade as a math teacher at both public and private grade schools.
Walter is a founding editor of Personal Computing Magazine (ISSN 0192-5490).
He has lived in Boston and Somerville, Mass., but has resided in New Hampshire since getting married in 1998. Referring to himself as "Russy-poo old" he call his Chinese wife "Pu-pu egg-foo young."
Sources:
Walter, Russ. The Secret Guide to Computers. 27th ed. for 2001. Manchester, N.H. : Russ Walter (ISBN 0939151278)
The Secret Guide to Computers web site at http://www.angelfire.com/nh/secret/ via http://www.secretfun.com
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