Hey guys,
I thought the same thing when I was going through the 2007 Edition. Why are there
any mistakes? How could
anyone miss this? Etc. I was the guy that started the unofficial list at
Errors in the FA and eventually started working for FA and helped build their new site,
First Aid Team. One of the perks is getting to see how the book is actually handled and what type of things get submitted. Here's what I learned:
Most of the mistakes are pretty trivial. The "outrageous" one you listed falls into this category. So do most of the mistakes that I found when I was going through the book. These mistakes are like a single chip in a windshield - you can still see everything that is important. The second thing I learned is that no matter how thoroughly you comb something, it will never be as powerful as thousands upon thousands of students doing the same. The FA Team knows this, which is why they offer students $10 for every error that they find and submit. Everyone benefits and the book gets better. The official list of Errata for the 2007 Edition is available for download as a pdf
here and was compiled from student submissions.
The 2008 Edition
is different from the other editions. The FA Team was given the goal of producing a book that was 99.99% error free. In other words, there will be fewer than 10 actual errors in this edition. Having gone through the new Edition's every page during the editing process, I can assure you that important changes were made, mnemonics and other memory devices were added, and difficult concepts were further clarified. So please don't consider what you spend on the new edition anything other than a good investment.
I will respond to any questions, either publicly or privately. All the best, topher.
