diff --git a/doc/make_doc b/doc/make_doc
index 96c51e1..be06cd0 100755
--- a/doc/make_doc
+++ b/doc/make_doc
@@ -2,14 +2,25 @@
 set -e
 
 echo "TeXing documentation"
-rm -f manual.aux manual.dvi manual.idx manual.ilg manual.ind manual.lab manual.log manual.six manual.toc
+# delete old stuff to avoid spurious or "hidden errors" caused by their presence
+rm -f manual.{aux,bbl,blg,dvi,idx,ilg,ind,lab,log,pdf,ps,six,toc}
+
+# TeX the manual
+tex manual
+# ... and build its bibliography
+#bibtex manual
+# TeX the manual again to incorporate the ToC
 tex manual
+# ... and build the index
 ../../../doc/manualindex manual
+# Finally TeX the manual again to get cross-references right
 tex manual
 
-echo "Creating PDF version"
-pdftex manual; pdftex manual
+# Create PDF version
+pdftex manual
+pdftex manual
 
-echo "Creating HTML documentation"
+# The HTML version of the manual
 mkdir -p ../htm
-../../../etc/convert.pl -c -i -u -n cryst . ../htm
+echo "Creating HTML documentation"
+../../../etc/convert.pl -i -u -c -n cryst . ../htm