Instruction Manuals

I catch on far too quickly to need instruction manuals, but I will say this:
Blizzard games (and many other PC game manuals) have outstanding work put inot them. I wonder why console games even bother with their small booklets. The StarCraft manual for instance has backstory, something most manuals look over.
And then there's Sierra, their manuals provide very good reference info, not just what you need to get started. It almost supplants the need for a strategy guide. I really miss those manuals, they add flavor and some great information that will help you whether you're one minute or 100 hours into the game.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

With the plethora of good PC manuals, what's the best manual ever made?
I'd think that Caesar III is definately up there. It gives sound advice, reference, backstory and flavor. It seems most console games just like to tell you how to play and only show a few of the items/abilities that you can get. Of course the way they design games these days, you'd think they make a crappy manual on purpose and then make a game with many secrets so you have to buy a strategy guide to 100% the thing.

There's nowhere I can't reach.