R. Andrew "Andy" Rathbone (born 1961) is an author of a number of books, including ''

For Dummies ''For Dummies'' is an extensive series of instructional reference books that strive to present non-intimidating guides for readers new to the various topics covered. The series has been a worldwide success, with editions in numerous languages. ...

'' about

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

as well as other computing books.

Early life and education

Rathbone was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. He attended

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

, majoring in comparative literature and graduated in 1986 He was the editor-in-chief of SDSU's ''Daily Aztec'' newspaper. He lives in San Diego, California. The character of shy teenager Mark "The Rat" Ratner, who has a crush on

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough in the teen film ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). She re ...

's character in the movie ''

Fast Times at Ridgemont High ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling (in her feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Stor ...

'', was modeled on Rathbone after writer

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American filmmaker and journalist. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe started his career a ...

befriended him during Crowe's research for the original book at San Diego's

Clairemont High School Clairemont High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12. It is located in the community of Clairemont, San Diego, California, Clairemont in San Diego, California, San Diego, California, United States. It is part of San Diego Unified ...

. Rathbone's portrayal in the film was featured in an article titled "Geek God" published in the March 13, 1995 issue of ''

People Weekly ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the la ...

'' magazine.

Career

Before becoming an author, Rathbone was chief editor at the ''Daily Aztec'', a reporter for the ''

La Jolla Light ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' newspaper, an editor at '' ComputorEdge Magazine'', and a freelancer for ''PC World'', ''ComputerWorld'' and ''CompuServe''. In 1992, Rathbone wrote his first ''For Dummies'' book, ''Windows for Dummies'', which was a ''New York Times'' bestseller. Since then, he has published some 50 computer books. His latest book is ''Windows 11 for Dummies'' (2021). Several of his ''For Dummies'' books have made ''USA Todays bestseller list. In 1992, Rathbone’s ''Windows For Dummies'' became the world’s best-selling computer book and remains so with more than 15 million copies sold by 2019.

Personal life

Rathbone lives in San Diego. His late wife, Tina Rathbone, who wrote ''Modems for Dummies'', died in 2023.

References

External links

Andy Rathbone's official site

John Wiley & Sons author bio
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WorldCat bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathbone, Andy American technology writers Living people Writers from San Diego People in information technology San Diego State University alumni 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American journalists