Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of DNS on Windows NT is an African white-necked raven (Corvus albicollis), a subspecies of raven, the largest of the crow-like birds at about 24 inches long. The sexes look alike; the female is slightly smaller. Perceived as spirited or even impudent, the raven has a distinctive, hoarse, carrying call. They are excellent flyers, hovering and gliding, and are safe in flight from predators. Ravens are scavengers and eat carrion and small live animals, as well as some plants. They sometimes hide and store excess food, and will occasionally carry food in their feet.

African raven nests, built in niches in rocks, are crafted of an underlying stick structure, covered by grass, dirt, and rocks, then smaller twigs with soft materials such as moss or rags, and finally a layer of grass or similar plant material. Ravens lay 3-6 mottled grayish-green eggs, and the young hatch after 18-20 days of incubation. Both parents (a pair mated for life) will change the nest lining materials to adjust for changes in temperature and climate.

The raven is a popular figure, both profane and sacred, in many legends. Ravens, along with their relatives jays and crows, have long been considered omens of evil in folklore, possibly due to the supposed annual tribute in feathers paid to the Devil; this legend is probably based on the molting of feathers every summer, during which the raven stays relatively well hidden -- only this and nothing more. The Old Testament lists ravens among "unclean" birds; ravens also fed Elijah by the brook. Other ancient and medieval cultures considered the raven a symbol of virility or wisdom. An ancient Norse saga describes the use of ravens by ocean navigators as guides to land, and Norse mythology describes ravens as scouts for Odin. Native American folklore tells that the raven created the world and its creatures.

Because they prey on locusts, mice, and rats, the white-necked raven is generally welcomed in Africa (despite the occasional theft of domestic fowl). Like that of many other wild animals, the raven's habitat is dwindling with expansion of the human population. Paula Carroll was production editor for this book; the copyeditor and indexer was Nancy Crumpton; the proofreader, Marleis Roberts; and the production tools specialists, Mike Sierra and Lenny Muellner.

Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book, using a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. The cover layout was produced with Quark XPress 3.32 using the ITC Garamond font. Whenever possible, our books use RepKover(TM), a durable and flexible lay-flat binding. If the page count exceeds RepKover's limit, perfect binding is used.

The inside layout was designed by Nancy Priest and implemented in FrameMaker 5.5 by Mike Sierra. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book. The illustrations that appear in the book were created in Macromedia FreeHand 7 and Adobe Photoshop 5 by Robert Romano. This colophon was written by Nancy Kotary.