Task: Read the Book “Breakout: How Atari 8-Bit Computers Defined a Generation” by Jamie Lendino
Needed: The book
Time: 3-6 hours
Introduction
Learning about Atari history and trivia on the web can be difficult since the information is fragmented across multiple different web pages and sources. Fortunately, there are authors who are willing to take the time to collate much of this information into very useful books. Breakout is a marvelous book that summarizes the history of Atari 8-bit home computers with coverage of hardware and software including a number of games. There is some good commentary about some of the mistakes Atari made and how, had things gone differently, they could have dominated the home computer market in the early 1980s. The book also covers topics such as emulation and collecting. I highly recommend this book. It is an easy and fun read and will leave you with a great foundation with which to enjoy your Atari 8-bit hobby.
Instructions
“Breakout: How Atari 8-Bit Computers Defined a Generation” by Jamie Lendino is available in paperback from Amazon for $17.99. It is also available on Kindle for $9.99. Here is a post from the author on ExtremeTech with a sample chapter to try before you buy. Here is the Atari Age discussion about the book.
Comments
A must have for any Atari 8-bit enthusiast. Note that about half the book summarizes some of the popular games for the 8-bit series. You can get through the other half the book in about three hours or so. I skimmed through the games section and only read the ones I was really interested in.
