Woody was born in McLean, Virginia, in August 1989, when an experimental NSA artificial intelligence program abended. The resulting core dump, transferred to a PC, took on a life of its own. In his first three days, "Woody" (as the dump became known) fried six different PC users, found his way to the Web, and has been posting insufferably ever since. Don't mess with him, ya know?

"Woody" adapted a random number generator and, with the aid of various human and semi-human counterparts has produced 24 computer books, including Windows XP All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies, Special Edition Using Microsoft Office XP,  Woody Leonhard Teaches Microsoft Office 2000, The Mother of All Windows 98 Books, Word Annoyances, Outlook Annoyances, Excel Annoyances, Office Annoyances, The Hacker's Guide to Word for Windows, The Underground Guide to Word for Windows, Windows Programming for Mere Mortals and The Mother of All PC Books.

"Woody" is responsible for WOPR, an award winning Microsoft Office add-on, available exclusively with Que's various Special Edition Using Office titles. He's also a Contributing Editor at Ziff-Davis Smart Business magazine (formerly PC Computing), where the powers that be haven't the slightest idea of his true nature. In conjunction with carbon-based contributors and editors from all over the world, he publishes a half-dozen electronic newsletters: Woody's Office Watch, Windows Watch, and several more. You can subscribe by visiting the Woody's Watch Web site. The newsletters are free, and worth every penny.

More than half a million people subscribe to the Woody's Watch newsletters. More than one hundred pieces of Woody-offal have appeared in various magazines. More than a hundred thousand copies of his books are floating around, dishing out happy bibliotherapy to hapless Windows and Office users.

You can fool some of the people all of the time, eh?

Woody has earned an unprecedented eight Computer Press Awards, from the Computer Press Association, and two Neal Awards, from the American Business Press.

He's a Contributing Editor at Ziff Davis Smart Business magazine (formerly PC Computing, circulation: 1,000,000+) where he writes features, reviews, and help articles. He's particularly well-known for his participation in the Windows Superguide series ¹,²,³,⁴,⁵, and his features on Windows⁶ and Microsoft Office.

Woody publishes several electronic newsletters. The flagship of the series, called WOW (Woody's Office Watch), covers Microsoft Office. WOW prides itself on its editorial independence and willingness to talk about the nitty-gritty of Office, warts and all. It's another product of Woody's far-flung network of friends, edited, assembled and distributed by Peter Deegan in Australia.

Woody also publishes a semi-weekly newsletter on Microsoft Windows called WWW (Woody's Windows Watch). Like WOW, WWW specializes in the whole truth about Windows. Ditto for Woody's Access Watch, and Woody's Project Watch, which are aimed at (surprise) Microsoft Access and Microsoft Project users; and Woody's Office for Mere Mortals (for beginners). Combined circulation of the Watches stands at more than 600,000, a number that's been increasing almost exponentially since the newsletters were launched in October 1996.

Woody was the publisher of a monthly dead-tree publication called Woody's Underground Office Newsletter — a literate, witty, no-holds-barred excursion into the Microsoft Office netherworld, aimed at Office power users and power user wannabes. While WUON garnered much critical acclaim⁷, it proved a dismal financial failure.

Woody leads an eclectic, electronic gang of WordNerds who created and peddle WOPR, Woody's Office POWER Pack, "The #1 Enhancement to Microsoft Office." WOPR won Windows Magazine's prestigious Win100 Award in 1993 and again in 1995 as one of the top 100 Windows software products; WOPR also took a PC Computing Best of the Internet Award in 1996 as the best Word Add-On. WOPR has been featured in more than a hundred magazine articles, reviews, and books, from Singapore to Croatia, and most places in between. It's now available exclusively as a bundled adjunct to several Special Edition Using Microsoft Office books from Que

Woody started kicking around the Internet in 1974, when ARPAnet connected a loosely organized group of military researchers with educational institutions and degenerate grad students. (One guess which group he fell into.)

Woody maintains a high profile on the Web: Woody's Office Portal, managed by Webmeister Claude Almer, appears at www.wopr.com. It's one-stop shop for Office gurus and guru wannabes, and the WOPR Lounge has become the premiere source of help on Office, Windows - and anything else you can mention. Drop by and check it out.

Woody prefers e-mail to any other form of business communication, and speaks HTML as a second language.

Woody's best-known books include: 

Windows XP All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies (Hungry Minds, 2002) The "thick" Windows XP Dummies book, packed with information everyone can use;

Special Edition Using Microsoft Office XP (Que, 2001, with Ed Bott) The ultimate, comprehensive Office reference, from two guys who know where the bodies are buried;

Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 2000 (Que, 1999, with Ed Bott), The highly acclaimed single best source of information about Office 2000;

Woody Leonhard Teaches Microsoft Office 2000 (Que, 1999) The only introductory Office book that covers everything you need to know to make Office work;

Woody Leonhard Teaches Microsoft Office 97 (Que, 1998) The first introductory Office book that dared to tell the truth;

The Mother of All Windows 98 Books (Addison Wesley Longman, 1998, with Barry Simon) Which digs deep into all the Windows 98 features;

Word 97 Annoyances (O’Reilly Associates, 1997, with Lee Hudspeth and T.J. Lee) The inside scoop on making Word 97 less of a pain;

Excel 97 Annoyances (O’Reilly Associates, 1997, with Lee Hudspeth and T.J. Lee) Sudden relief from recalcitrant Excel 97 spreadsheets;

Office 97 Annoyances (O’Reilly Associates, 1997, with Lee Hudspeth and T.J. Lee) The taming of the other parts of Office 97;

The Underground Guide to Telecommuting (Addison-Wesley, 1995) The first book to take on the "hard" parts of telecommuting. A seminal book on an increasingly important topic;

The Underground Guide to Word for Windows (Addison-Wesley, 1994) Slightly askew advice from a WinWord guru;

CD-MOM - The Mother of All Windows Books, CD-ROM Edition  (Addison-Wesley, 1993, with Barry Simon) The first mainstream computer book to ship with a companion CD-ROM;

The Hacker's Guide to Word for Windows8  (Addison-Wesley, 1st ed., 1992, with Vincent Chen; 2nd ed., 1994, also with Scott Krueger) The ultimate WinWord power user's reference;

Windows 3.1 Programming for Mere Mortals9  (Addison-Wesley 1992) An off-the-wall look at Windows programs through Basic-colored glasses.

Woody edited two series for Addison-Wesley, the Underground Guides (11 books) and the Hacker’s Guides (3 books). He was responsible for developing both series from concept to final production, found most of the writers, and took on technical edit of many of the books.

Woody earned a B.A. in Mathematics, Summa Cum Laude, from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and an M.S. and A.B.D.¹⁰ in Computer Science from the University of Colorado. He's a member of Phi Beta Kappa, an Eagle Scout, lifetime member of the American Numismatic Association, and former VP of the Association of Shareware Professionals. His publicity photo can be found in the March 1998 issue of PC Computing, at the beginning of an article called "Woody's Windows Clinic."

Woody was one of the first Microsoft Consulting Partners, and a charter member of the Microsoft Solutions Provider organization. He is one-man major Microsoft beta testing site, and delights in being a constant thorn in Microsoft's side. He describes himself as a "Microsoft Office Victim."

He's traveled extensively in Asia – where he's had private audiences with several remarkable people, including the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa – and in the Middle East, North America, Europe and Africa.

Woody spent five years (1979-1985) in long-range computer planning for Aramco – the big oil company in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia – where he developed an acute sense of the absurd. In 1985 he returned to Colorado, and lived on a mountain top for 16 years. In early 2001, Woody moved to Phuket Island in southern Thailand, a magical place of warmth and enchantment, balmy breezes and killer chiles. He shares his shack with his 14-year-old son, who's a formidable computer jock in his own right, and their two all-American mutts, Chronos and Ginger.