SEBASTOPOL, Calif. -- Good things are happening for digital photographers. The new and improved iPhoto '08 makes it easier than ever to transfer photos from a digital camera organize them and publish, print or share them. The new version boasts of dozens of new features -- including self-grouping Events, Web galleries and a print-layout mode -- but there's still no printed manual.

Fortunately, David Pogue and Derrick Story are back to bring you the funny, authoritative book that should have been in the box. Inside iPhoto '08: The Missing Manual (O'Reilly, $34.99), you'll find everything you need to know to start using this popular digital photography software.

"To be sure, iPhoto isn't the most powerful image management software in the world," writes David, New York Times tech columnist and creator of the Missing Manual series. "Like Apple's other iProducts, (iMovie, iTunes, iDVD and so on), its design subscribes to its own little 80/20 rule: 80 percent of us really don't need more than about 20 percent of the features you'd find in a full-blown, $300 digital-asset management program like, say, Apple's own Aperture."

And, adds David: "iPhoto '08 doesn't represent a big overhaul; Apple gave it more nips and tucks than massive surgery. Still, there's quite a bit of juicy stuff in the new version."

This timely new book covers:

• Essentials of photography. This book's opening chapters offer a crash course in using your digital camera and the secrets of professional photography.

• Editing basics. Even the greatest photos sometimes need a little touching up. This book covers iPhoto's beefed-up editing suite, including its increasingly Photoshop-like adjustments palette.

• Finding an audience. iPhoto excels at getting your photos out to the people who really want to see them. Your choices include screen savers, desktop backgrounds, Kodak prints, self-playing DVD slide shows (with music), gift books, calendars, cards and spectacular Web galleries.

"iPhoto 08 is the best release of Apple's consumer picture management application to date," says co-author Derrick Story. "I enjoyed learning about the new features and writing them up for the Missing Manual. I'm particularly excited about the improved Adjust palette with better controls to fine-tune our images."

With better editing tools, books and calendars and a new way to organize photos around events, there's something for every digital shooter to love. Whether you're a dedicated photographer or just getting started, iPhoto '08: The Missing Manual lets you marry the stunning quality of digital photography with the power of your imagination.

David Pogue is the weekly personal-technology columnist for the New York Times and an Emmy award-winning tech correspondent for CBS News. With three million books in print, he is also one of the world's bestselling how-to authors. In 1999, he launched his own series of complete, funny computer books called the Missing Manual series, which now includes more than 30 titles.

Derrick Story is the digital media evangelist for O'Reilly. His experience includes more than 20 years as a photojournalist, managing editor for O'Reilly Network and a speaker for IDG, PMA and Santa Fe Workshops. He is the author of Digital Photography Hacks, Digital Photography Pocket Guide, 3rd Ed. and his latest, The Digital Photography Companion.

iPhoto '08: The Missing Manual is available via the Imaging Resource Amazon affiliate program at a 34 percent discount.