How to Use this Book vs. Introduction

Question

What is the difference between these two conventions? Are they mutually exclusive? Is one a particular case of the other?

I'm having trouble finding information on these sort of parts.

Answer 1

Introductions vary greatly. Some are the opening chapter and could be called 'chapter one'. Others set out what the rest of the book will be about, a sort of roadmap so readers know where they are heading. If the introduction is written by a different person to that which wrote the rest of the book, it is usually a commentary on what is to follow.

'How to use this book' usually tells you the best way of dealing with a text, particularly if you are not expected to read it from start to finish. There may be a brief summary of each chapter, or a summary of each section so you know where to look. It is sometimes just instructions.

The two types of beginnings overlap. What is most suitable depends on the audience (a coffee table book or an academic thesis), the subject (introducing Python for kids is different to essays on democracy), and the length (a tract is going to need something different to a thousand page tome).