I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and well-paced. With the book rounding out at about 250 pages, I was able to complete it in a one evening, the day it arrived from Amazon.
The first half of the book covers the author's 1980s pre-college technology shenanigans, including some thievery, pirating and phone phreaking. While the author participated in these activities, it seems more of an experimental phase rather than a full-time criminal enterprise that takes place in other books in this genre. The book also details the logistics of living in a broken home, not in a sad, sappy way, but in a "when will I have access to my beloved Atari 800 again" way.
The author talks about various video game systems such as the Channel-F, the Mattel Intellivision and the Atari 2600. He also talks about the computers he had as a child including the Atari 800, the Texas Instruments 99/4A , the Apple IIc and others. He doesn't go into much detail on the hardware, but discusses the software in general and his favorite games in detail such as M.U.L.E. and Jumpman.
The second half of the book covers the author's college days, career in freelance technical writing and later, web publishing. The section on the author's college days is very interesting. The section on the author's freelance career begins to feel like an "Ego Wall" after a while, though being an autobiographical/memoir work, I guess it is appropriate. Even in this section there are good nuggets of historical and biographical information.
A great aspect of this book is that the author injects snippets of source code, programs screen shots, emails, diary entries, letters and school assignments that he has saved from his childhood. It adds a great personal historical facet to the work.
There are a few places in the narrative where the author jumps ahead or back in time which can be a little confusing. For this review, I read the first edition printed version and I didn't find any mistakes. The editing was first rate.
All in all, it was an enjoyable read and well worth the $15.
On a side note, "An Officer and a Gentleman" was a pretty good movie and places that I have worked, such as Bell Laboratories, did ask for a copy of my college transcripts so that they could see my grades.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2012
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2020
I've been listening to the ANTIC Podcast on and off for the past couple of years. My 8-Bit Atari days really shaped who I am today and listening to the interviews and info shared on the podcast really brings back memories. After hearing Kevin mention his book on a couple of occasions, I decided to pick up a copy. It was well worth it to me.
What I found most interesting was reading the stories of him getting new machines and the family and friends' interactions around them. It really brought me back to my childhood. Some of the similarities between the author and I are eerily close.
If you're someone who grew up in the 70's and 80's at the onset of Home Computing and Video Games, this is an enjoyable, easy read that I highly recommend adding to your library.
What I found most interesting was reading the stories of him getting new machines and the family and friends' interactions around them. It really brought me back to my childhood. Some of the similarities between the author and I are eerily close.
If you're someone who grew up in the 70's and 80's at the onset of Home Computing and Video Games, this is an enjoyable, easy read that I highly recommend adding to your library.
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