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Commodore: A Company on the Edge [Hardcover]

Brian Bagnall
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 15, 2010 0973864966 978-0973864960 2nd
Filled with first-hand accounts of ambition, greed, and inspired engineering, this history of the personal computer revolution takes readers inside the cutthroat world of Commodore. Before Apple, IBM, or Dell, Commodore was the first computer manufacturer to market its machines to the public, selling an estimated 22 million Commodore 64s. Those halcyon days were tumultuous, however, owing to the expectations and unsparing tactics of founder Jack Tramiel. Engineers and managers with the company between 1976 and 1994 share their memories of the groundbreaking moments, soaring business highs, and stunning employee turnover that came with being on top in the early days of the microcomputer industry. This updated second edition includes additional interviews and first-hand material from major Commodore figures like marketing guru Kit Spencer, chip designer Bill Mensch, and Commodore co-founder Manfred Kapp.

Frequently Bought Together

Commodore: A Company on the Edge + The Future Was Here: The Commodore Amiga (Platform Studies) + Commodore: The Amiga Years
Price for all three: $59.26

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brian Bagnall is the author of numerous computer titles, including Core LEGO Mindstorms, On the Edge, and Maximum LEGO NXT. He is also a frequent contributor to Old-Computers.com, an online museum dedicated to recording and preserving computer history. He lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 548 pages
  • Publisher: Variant Press; 2nd edition (December 15, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0973864966
  • ISBN-13: 978-0973864960
  • Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.4 x 9.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
(24)
4.5 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic in many ways but... where's my Amiga?? January 23, 2011
By Melante
Format:Hardcover
I finally got my hands on this book after more than one year waiting. The book fulfilled my high expectations in many ways but left me with a somewhat bitter taste in the end. Why?
Well, beware that the expanded contents on the early Commodore days are there at a price: the Amiga is not covered at all and is left for a second volume coming (hopefully) in 2012!
If I knew this in advance I would have much preferred to search for the earlier edition: a bit less detail and interviews but, ultimately, more comprehensive in overall scope.

In the end, if you were a big Amiga fan, you may want to track down a first edition (or, of course, wait for the next book), otherwise this is a unique and extremely deep insight into everything else Commodore which spans also the early personal computer industry as a whole (and let me say it should be a must read for all Apple fan boys too ;-) ).
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Let me state plainly up front that I was a Commodore Kid: a happy owner of both a 64 and an Amiga. So there is a certain nostalgia kick I might have received while reading this book that other people might not get to the same degree. But I actually don't think it's particularly important to have been familiar with Commodore's products to appreciate this book. The first half of it serves more as a highly illuminating journey into those crazily fast-moving times in the second half of the 1970s, when the industry went from being a few companies selling mail-order, solder-it-yourself boards with a CPU and eight LEDs to a brave new world of self-contained home computers no more than five years later. No industry has ever become so important so quickly, and Chuck Peddle, MOS and Commodore were at the very heart of it.

Peddle is the figure who appears most frequently in the text, and the book at times takes on some of his irritation at the rewriting of history by Apple at the expense of Commodore. The chippiness is amusing at times, but, in truth, it's justified. I was there, even if as a kid, and I remember how hugely important Commodore were in those days. Apple were a relatively minor player with their expensive machines. The Macintosh was the first thing of any real significance they did, building on the Xerox PARC ideas and seeing (correctly) that GUIs were the way forward. But it was Commodore who brought home computing to the masses (along with Sinclair in the UK, a company whose significance I was happy to see this book acknowledge).

This is really terrific stuff if you want to get a good idea of how we got from there to here.
... Read more ›
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars On The Edge! November 13, 2011
Format:Hardcover
I read the original edition of this book several years ago and the content felt rushed in some areas and not detailed. This new edition has corrected that by leaps and bounds. Some people have commented that it lacks the Amiga years but that book is coming later. In fact the clear deliniation between the Jack Tramiel Commodore and the years that came after is the perfect separation point between the two tomes.

Reading the book gives a good insight into what it would have been like to walk the halls of Commodore in their most inovative years. The characters are more fleshed out than the original book and you can almost imagine being in the room with them.

Anyone who is a fan of Commodore and the home computer wars should give this book a read.

Now if someone would only write the same type of book for Atari (pre/Post Jack Tramiel) this Atari user would be in heaven!
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By D. Gaj
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an extensively researched work which is told in a very compelling fashion.

The book is primarily made up of quotes from Commodore employees, articles of the time, and other sources, which are woven together in a lucid chronological format. It was very interesting to find out the details and reasoning behind aspects of popular computers such as the VIC-20 and, especially the C64.

The technical details (chip manufacturing, software device drivers, etc) may be of more benefit to someone with a technical background, but anyone can enjoy all aspects of this book. As a software developer, I found much of the "behind the scenes" detail extremely rewarding.

It was also surprising to see how much Commodore did accomplish in such a dysfunctional environment, which began with the volatile founder and CEO, Jack Tramiel, at the top.

This book starts at the beginning of Commodore, which was created in 1958 in Toronto, Canada as a calculator company, and went public in 1962. It stops coverage in June 1984, shortly after the Plus/4 came out. There is an announcement in the back of the book, stating that a book titled "Commodore: The Amiga Years" will be arriving in 2012, which will likely pick up where this one left off.

Think "Chuck Peddle" - not "Steve Wozniak"...

I also found it very interesting to learn that Commodore was far more the innovator during the late 70s and early 80s than was Apple, or other personal computer companies of the day. Apple is a benefactor of receiving a lot of revisionist press from the likes of Robert X. Cringely (whose real name is Mark Stephens and was an employee of Apple) and others who like to perpetuate the myth of the two Steves being the most innovative during that era.
... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Great story, weakly told
I really wanted to like this book more than I did, because it's such a compelling story. Commodore makes a great case study for any company that's trying to innovate in a new,... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Don DeLauder
4.0 out of 5 stars A lot of information about the beggining of the personal computer era
The book is really interesting as you can realize all the stuff that was going on in parallel while the first models of personal/home computers were created, the book includes lots... Read more
Published 14 days ago by Jose Luis
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book available on Commodore
A wonderfully detailed look at how the company was run and the people behind it. A very interesting read even for those who never owned a Commodore computer, fascinating from a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Azhrei
5.0 out of 5 stars So much detail....
I'm really enjoying this book. I'm about 2/3 through and there have been sections of the book that I could not put it down. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Chris
3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting tale
When the author is sticking to the facts or relaying direct quotes, the book is very good. But when he states opinion as fact or veers into fanboy territory, the book takes a turn... Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Walsh
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!
This book was recommended to me by a group of computer enthusiasts. I have already read a couple of books on how the "Steve's" created the Apple in their garage, and now... Read more
Published 4 months ago by A. Sotelo
4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating read
I really enjoyed this book. I am lucky enough to have grown up during this time period, and while I did not actually own a Commodore computer, I did own two of the competing... Read more
Published 6 months ago by S. Davidson
3.0 out of 5 stars Great story, sloppy writing, editing
I started my engineering career at Peddle's Victor/Sirius Systems in 1981, so I know many of the folks described and I am glad this important history has been written down, but... Read more
Published 7 months ago by W. Willats
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
I read this book as a hardcover years ago, and my brother and I discussed it vividly as the computers Commodore made were (are) a great influence to us during childhood. Read more
Published 8 months ago by LaseOne
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Work!
As someone who is into the history of computers, and also still in love with Commodore 64, this book was godsent. Read more
Published 9 months ago by R. L. Pekcan
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Topic From this Discussion
Is this any different than On The Edge?
I re-read the description... Sounds like it is updated with 'additional interviews'..

Can we trade our old books in on the new version?

"This updated second edition includes additional interviews and first-hand material from major Commodore figures like marketing guru Kit Spencer, chip... Read more
Jan 2, 2009 by bas |  See all 6 posts
Finally actually released!
At last!! :D
Dec 5, 2010 by Melante |  See all 3 posts
When is this coming out?
No release date in sight. Brian must have gotten bogged down on something else and hasn't finished the book.
May 10, 2010 by User 1138 |  See all 3 posts
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