Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer (Paperback)

by Stan Veit (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: WorldComm (April 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566640237
• ISBN-13: 978-1566640237
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #352,310 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read the history that Cringely left out, March 16, 2006

By	D. Hodgson (Cupertino, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer (Hardcover)

This is an absolutely wonderful recollection, particularly because it tries to cover as many "fall through the cracks" microcomputers as it can - including the many S-100 systems of the era. It's amazing how much first-hand contact Stan had with the early players simply by virtue of opening the East Coast's first computer store. The book itself, compiled from his column in Computer Shopper, has a really old-style Garrison Keiller feel to it - the tone is that of an "I was there" hobbyist writing for the benefit of other hobbyists. Big points for coverage of the ultra-obscure Video Brain and the Exidy Sorcerer, along with flying in the corporate jet with Charles Tandy in the earliest days of the TRS-80. Despite its completeness, coverage of the Commodore-Amiga is almost completely left out. For that, read "On the Edge: the Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore" by Brian Bagnall.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Always one of my favorites!, October 5, 2006

By	David Greelish "classiccomputing.com" (FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer (Hardcover)

Stan Veit was a pioneer in the realm of personal computers; he was a pioneer to us, the "normal" person, the consumer. He opened the second microcomputer store in the world! The first on the east coast. In this book, he recollects about the machines he sold and the people he met in his store from the mid to late 1970's. He also covers computers of the very early '80's and tells the story of IBM's introduction of the PC in 1981 and what happened to the competition.

Actually, the book, published in 1993, is an expansion of his articles from the "Computer Shopper" magazine where he had a monthly column entitled "What Ever Happened to." It's a collection of individual short computer stories. This is nice because you can jump around and read about the computers which interest you most first.

This book is a must-have in the computer history library! I am about to start a podcast reading this book into audio form.

David Greelish
classiccomputing dot com

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stan Veit was there to write about the start of the PC, March 19, 1998

By A Customer

Stan Veit opened the first computer store east of California, then he was Computer Editor of Popular Electronics Magazine. Then he founded and was Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Computer Shopper Magazine. Veit writes about the inside of the new PC industry. This book is entaining and informative to all. Illustrated with historical photos