A Collector's Guide to Personal Computers and Pocket Calculators [Paperback]

Thomas F. Haddock (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Books Americana (April 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896890988
• ISBN-13: 978-0896890985
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,191,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for beginners, one of a kind in a new area, November 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Collector's Guide to Personal Computers and Pocket Calculators (Paperback)

This is the book that got me started. The book has pictures of the computer, a brief history, technical information for that computer, the listing price at the time it was introduced, and the current value for the machine. The author also added some interesting facts and trivia to each of the listings about that particular machine. Although slightly out of date, most definitely it is essential to the beginner.

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic, now sadly dated, July 5, 2006

By 

Jan Hernandez "19 and climbing" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Collector's Guide to Personal Computers and Pocket Calculators (Paperback)

Haddock's valuations were always a little suspect -- he would rank some very common hardware as more valuable than much rarer and more interesting competition that would, in reality, cost a collector a lot more. However, the book was written before the era of eBay, and I suspect he was guessing at a lot of the prices.

In the years since it was written, valuations have moved in surprising ways. Old Apple hardware has appreciated more than old Atari hardware, for example. CP/M machines don't seem to have done as well as others. Haddock, of course, reflects none of this.

The book is still valuable for its concise descriptions of old systems and peripherals, and for the photographs it provides. I know of nothing newer that's anywhere near as good. Perhaps somebody will produce a new edition of Haddock's guide some day.