Offering a comprehensive account of the multi-disciplinary field of human-computer interaction, this work illustrates the powerful benefits of a user-oriented approach to the design of modern computer systems. It balances the technical and cognitive issues required for understanding the subtle interplay between people and computers, particularly in emerging fields like multimedia, virtual environments and computer-supported co-operative work (CSCW). A feature is the inclusion of interviews with many leading authorities in HCI, providing personal insight into their work and conveying the excitement of current research activity: Deborah Hix, Roy Kalawsky, Marilyn Mantel, Tom Moran, Donald Norman, Brian Shackel, Ben Shcneiderman, Bill Verplank, and Terry Winograd.