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.
Commodore: A Company on the Edge
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Book Description
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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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
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 ;-) ).
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 ;-) ).
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By GoonMoon
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. Even the very Commodore-centric stuff speaks volumes about the way the commercial landscape was changing constantly in a general sense, and how a project that could seem a good idea when initiated could end up as a dud because the market had moved on in the meantime. There are some mindblowing "What if...?" moments where one can see how a chance moment or a seemingly-random decision can have an enormous knock-on effect when viewed in retrospect. (Particularly fascinating is the story of how VisiCalc became an Apple rather than a PET product by pure chance, and the ghastly moment where Bob Russell realizes that a tiny engineering blunder is going to ruin his disk drive plans and result in loading times 30 times longer than designed, and that nothing can be done about it.)
There are fascinating and enthralling vignettes as well: the story of William Shatner's association with Commodore (and how Commodore computers ended up with cameos in many of his movies), and a truly terrifying tangential recollection of the disastrous airplane flight that nearly killed several of Commodore's top people including founder Jack Tramiel.
There are a few criticisms I could make - in places the book feels like the editing was rushed and could do with a second pass - but it would be churlish to dwell on them. Giving the book five stars is a no-brainer for me, because I enjoyed every minute of it. And it felt really *important* to me that this story was being told. Although author Brian Bagnall must at some level be doing this for financial recompense, I sense that more than anything else this was a real labor of love for him. And it is one that I appreciate greatly: I'd like to say "thank you" for putting all the work in to tell such a rich and interesting story about some genuinely important but undersung heroes of the home computer revolution.
Oh, and I *really* want to read Volume 2 about the Amiga now...
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. Even the very Commodore-centric stuff speaks volumes about the way the commercial landscape was changing constantly in a general sense, and how a project that could seem a good idea when initiated could end up as a dud because the market had moved on in the meantime. There are some mindblowing "What if...?" moments where one can see how a chance moment or a seemingly-random decision can have an enormous knock-on effect when viewed in retrospect. (Particularly fascinating is the story of how VisiCalc became an Apple rather than a PET product by pure chance, and the ghastly moment where Bob Russell realizes that a tiny engineering blunder is going to ruin his disk drive plans and result in loading times 30 times longer than designed, and that nothing can be done about it.)
There are fascinating and enthralling vignettes as well: the story of William Shatner's association with Commodore (and how Commodore computers ended up with cameos in many of his movies), and a truly terrifying tangential recollection of the disastrous airplane flight that nearly killed several of Commodore's top people including founder Jack Tramiel.
There are a few criticisms I could make - in places the book feels like the editing was rushed and could do with a second pass - but it would be churlish to dwell on them. Giving the book five stars is a no-brainer for me, because I enjoyed every minute of it. And it felt really *important* to me that this story was being told. Although author Brian Bagnall must at some level be doing this for financial recompense, I sense that more than anything else this was a real labor of love for him. And it is one that I appreciate greatly: I'd like to say "thank you" for putting all the work in to tell such a rich and interesting story about some genuinely important but undersung heroes of the home computer revolution.
Oh, and I *really* want to read Volume 2 about the Amiga now...
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Simon Wells
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!
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!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
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 5 days 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 15 days 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 2 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 3 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 5 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 6 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 7 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 8 months ago by R. L. Pekcan
3.0 out of 5 stars
A good history, a muddling book
Brian Bagnall clearly did scholarly research. This book is a near meticulous analysis of Commodore in its early years, sans the perspective of the primary character (Jack... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Craig M. Kelley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Book
Highly recommended. This book reminds us that Commodore was a power player during the home computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. Read more
Published 11 months ago by VladdyTrout
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