RE: Emacs Book Vs Emacs Manuals

[Drew Adams]

> What would be the best way to learn Emacs.  Is it
> a) Through the different Manuals (there are many and they are big)
> b) Through a Book that puts all of the different pieces together in
>    a concise mannner.
... 
> How about resources like Emacswiki, Stackexchange or Stackoverflow.

You will get lots of answers here, no doubt.  As you can guess,
this is not the first time people have considered this question.

The question is especially apropos for Emacs, because Emacs has
as a major goal to help you learn about it - it is touted as "the
self-documenting editor".  The best lesson to learn: Ask Emacs.

Some of what you get here as responses might be interesting & new.
But you can also benefit from previous pondering of the question.

I would recommend starting with the info that has been distilled
on Emacs Wiki about this.  And you can update it with your own
thoughts/experience/advice about the question.

On the main EmacsWiki page you see prominently this section heading: 
Learning About Emacs.
(http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/SiteMap#LearningEmacs)

The first entry under that heading is EmacsNewbie.
(http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/EmacsNewbie)

And at EmacsNewbie you see links to a glossary, guided tour, etc.
The main link is "LearningEmacs – Different ways to learn Emacs."
(http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/LearningEmacs)

The "different ways" is important, because people learn, and
want to learn, differently.

Enjoy, and welcome to Emacs!