Is the Zap! book filled with all kinds of information of ata

[meltdown71835]

I really want to study atari so im gonna get one of those books about atari but is Zap! a thourogh extra detail filled book?

[MrRetroGamer]

ZAP! is a great book to read and there are good some details in there. It's not a big, thick book, but a very interesting read.

 

There are many good magazine articles from the 80's that have good Atari info, and many web sites that are also good places to start. This is a very good article that was scanned in, called Atari - From Cutoffs to Pinstripes:

http://www.atari-history.com/cut2pin.html

 

and that site has lots of good info too. Check it out.

 

There are also some VHS video tapes produced that give good background info, but I don't know if they are available. I have Setlla at 20 vol1 and 2 by the Cyberpunks, and I think there is another good series called Once Upon Atari, but I don't think that one is available any longer.

[mos6507]

Note that Zap is riddled with misspellings, most notably (and annoyingly) with people's names (for example, I think they called Joe Decuir 'Joe Decure'). Unfortunately none of this has ever been fixed in the reprintings which is a shame.

[Tempest]

Can't you two not go at it for five minutes? Yeesh...

 

Tempest

[cx2k]

quote:

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Originally posted by Glenn Saunders:

Note that Zap is riddled with misspellings, most notably (and annoyingly) with people's names (for example, I think they called Joe Decuir 'Joe Decure'). Unfortunately none of this has ever been fixed in the reprintings which is a shame.

---

 

Well Glenn, it's too bad you don't check your facts before making statements like this. The current version of the reprint that is being sold by Xlibris (www.xlibris.com) does indeed have corrections made to the text.

 

But let's be honest, that wasn't the point of your post anyway...

 

John

[AtariDude]

Besides the fact that the new version on xbilis has fixed the typos, does it have more current information? The original ZAP! only went so far and I don't remember if it stopped at the time that the Tramiels bought Atari for Warner.

[rolenta]

Besides the fact that the new version on xbilis has fixed the typos, does it have more current information? The original ZAP! only went so far and I don't remember if it stopped at the time that the Tramiels bought Atari for Warner.

 

The 'new' Zap is a reprint of the original book. No new information was added.

[Callipygous]

Its interesting to read this book and compare to today's accounting scandals. Atari hid the fact that it was not going to meet its fourth quarter 1982 profit projections from the analysts. They did, however. report the true profits when the filing was due in dec 82. The stock fell and things unraveled after that. Their dishonesty hurt the analysts prestige and some of their clients, but damage was limited. Today, dishonesty extends all the way to false profits on the quarterly statements themselves. A lot more people getting hurt. Also, Ray Kassar was caught red-handed unloading the stock before the truth was known. The SEC nailed him immediately! Kassar just paid up rather than go through any legal actions.

 

Reccmmend this book. Its strength is that it is based on interviews with a lot of Atari and ex-Atari employees. This gives the stories and descriptions an authentic feel. The reader gets a real sense of the atmosphere inside Atari. On the other hand, it is a slim volume that can be read in a day or two and it does end in 1983. If you pay big $$ for the original edition, you might feel cheated.