Over the last couple of years, I have found a new appreciation for all things Atari - from the original VCS/2600 days, through to the re-born Atari's 16 and 32-bit computers, and even the much-maligned but ever so tempting Jaguar. In that time, I have picked up some very good games (via the Evercade handheld) and books (We Love Atari, Atari - a Visual History, 50 Atari ST Games You Have To Play) on the subject. But I wanted more. Tomes with different approaches, styles and yes, obviously, content. After finishing Greyfox Book's Visual History, I set out to locate other sources and very quickly found this: Breakout - How Atari 8-bit Computers Defined A Generation by Jamie Lendino.
This is, in one sense, a very personal tale as the author grew up with Atari 8-bit computers, ran a bulletin board on them and rediscovered the joys of owning an Atari 8-bit by rebuilding some of his collection in recent years. That personal connection pervades Breakout and reinforces the enthusiasm with which the author speaks of Atari. It's that enthusiasm which carries you along as you read through the three sections of this well-written tome.
The first gives you the author's background and his formative years with Atari's 8-bit range, an in-depth tour of the 8-bit range's history, the high points and the lows (what was it with computer company management in the 1980's? Bill Herd's excellent Back into the Storm describes similar ineptitude at Commodore), as well as the kit that you could buy at the time.
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| That fold in the back cover was caused by an unexpected feline intervention. |
The core of the book details the games, with over one hundred titles covered in a section that takes up well over a third of the book. Here, you will find seminal arcade conversions, original titles, unreleased prototypes and maybe some games that history has mostly forgotten for the right reasons. These contain lovely snippets of info and touch on some of the weirder titles. There are screenshots (sadly not in colour) but they are clear enough, as are the images and photographs dotted around the book.
The final section deals with the modern (as of 2017) approach to Atari's 8-bit wonders. From emulation, collecting, modding (love the laptop, by the way) to the alive and kicking Atari community, you'll find a lot of still relevant information here if you fancy taking the plunge into the format. You'll also find a handy list of pertinent publications, and I will be tracking down copies of the ones I don't already own.
Breakout is a wonderful history of the Atari 8-bit range of machines, from both the author's perspective and its place in the US market. On it's own, it is a great book but, and hear me out, it is even better when read alongside Atari - a Visual History. Why? Because that similarly excellent volume is in colour and, where they crossover, you have a wonderful brace of resources for many Atari 8-bit titles. Inadvertently, these are superb companion pieces.
You can purchase Breakout from Amazon, either as a paperback or a Kindle e-book. You can follow the author on Twitter, where you can find out more about his writing (he has a long career in tech writing). You can also find out about his other books here, which I intend to purchase in the new year. Expect reviews as and when. And, if you like the idea of having two great books on the Atari's 8-bit range, you can find out more about Greyfox Books here.
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