Faster Than Light: The Atari ST and the 16-Bit Revolution

If you're a previous owner of an Atari ST or STE or 1040 ST, etc., you'll love this walk down memory lane--with lots of descriptions of software and hardware. I really enjoyed this book and think it was well-written by somebody who obviously loved their Atari ST as much as the rest of us. Most people don't know that it was the Atari ST who was first with the GUI (graphical user interface) and not Windows or Apple. I had a scanner, laser printer, dual disk drives, hard drives, fax/modem, and WordPerfect to complete my graduate thesis with--all before the Macs or Microsoft products were available. This book reminds me of just how much fun AND productive the Atari ST was as a personal computer.

As an Atari fanatic and former Atari ST owner, I was truly excited to buy a book that delved into the Atari ST from a historical perspective. When a book description says "vital look at the history of the Atari ST, guiding you from its inauspicious genesis at the center of a company known for its gaming consoles to its category-defining triumphs in music, desktop publishing, and video gaming", your expectations are already pretty high.Instead, I found this book to be not a true historical account, but more of an encapsulated version of old interviews, sound/word bites from press articles when it came to the actual history of the Atari ST. I was hoping for interviews with a number of the key people behind the ST (like Shiraz Shivji for example), from the true birth of the machine, the technical challenges, the industrial design decisions for the way the hardware looked and evolved, really giving me the history behind the machine. It doesn't sound like anyone from the ST development team was interviewed at all because all the references are to past sound bytes.What you end up with is fragments and moments strung together from previous magazine interviews or quotes to form the narrative of the machine development itself. From a historical perspective, there's nothing here that can't be found via Google with more backstory than is presented in this book, or combing through some of the message boards out there. You will learn nothing that hasn't been covered before, which begs the question of the need to write this book at all? In the "Why you should read this book" (um - I already bought it?), the author says "the main Atari ST narrative: the history within the context of the tech industry" which IMO is in direct opposition with the the description at the top of the Amazon page which listed " a vital look at the history of the Atari ST, guiding you from its inauspicious genesis at the center of a company known for its gaming consoles to its category-defining triumphs in music, desktop publishing, and video gaming." So I buy the book thinking I'm getting the vital history, only to open the book (I've already bought) and read (my own paraphrasing) "well not really, but it's in relation to the tech industry." Based on the description of the book vs what's actually contained in it, it's a 1-star rating.Then you come to the software synopsis where the author covers quite a bit of the ST software released (and in a chronological fashion). He interjects his thoughts and opinions in an editorialized fashion, and this part of the book is the better part. Reminiscing about the launch of the software brought me back to my youth when I remember buying as I read about the games, which included some development anecdotes. It's a pretty good list of games, but some of the big ones I felt were rushed through. Starglider for example, there was nary a mention of the digitized song by Dave Lowe that plays in the beginning, and the number of Atari ST dealers that used that opening (not just the game itself) as a demo of the ST capabilities. Marble Madness, generally atrocious on the ST, got a brief mention, but the irony is the game itself supported MIDI music which gave it a leg up on the Amiga version (IMO). Not to mention it would have been nicer to see more game pictures in the book vs. the couple that were in there. For this portion of the book, I'd give it 3 stars.The remainder of the book touches on the musical/MIDI aspect which again, doesn't IMO tell you anything new (why not interview Jimmy Hotz for example????), as well as the emulator scene today and some of the last ditch efforts by third parties to keep Atari ST hardware going. Again, if you're lazy and/or don't want to do a little digging (i.e. google or forums), maybe this will satisfy you.If you're an Atari ST fan, who wants to read a synopsis and a list of software with some development anecdotes and editorializing, you can't go wrong with this book. But if you're looking for a true book about the Atari ST history, specifically new information or the true development from idea to inception, this book will surely disappoint.

Yes the other reviews are right that there is some subjective aspects of this book -- but the book isn't trying to be a history lesson.The author did a great job of covering a variety of uses for the ST, key software and hardware that made the ST unique, and it's impact on the ecosystem around it. I really enjoyed this book and if you're a techie who grew up with the ST - get this book!If you're a historian looking to learn something about the era - the book is also a good book for you too. Just understand it does come from a different viewpoint at the author grew up with the ST and it had an impact on him (And others like myself).

This book brings back so many memories of why I loved the ST. It brings back an era before we needed to worry so much about our online privacy and cyber threats. Thinking back to floppy viruses on the ST seems quaint today.I was shocked that Jamie called out Marble Madness though. The ST version stunk. That quibble aside, this book was a wonderful trip down memory lane.

I bought this as a gift for my husband, who is difficult to buy for, and he thoroughly enjoyed this book. He was the Group Product Manager for AtariSoft and Director of Marketing at Atari--so this was a HUGE hit!! He found the information accurate and enjoyed this as a time capsule. Special thank you to the author for creating a great gift!

I had the 520ST when I was a teen and enjoyed relearning about it. This book skims a lot and could use a little more meat, but it worked for me.

This book is between the two types of nostalgic books that I'd expect. Either it'd have to go full colour and focus on the visual, or it would have to dig deeper in the various topics it touches on. Right now it has very few pictures, is in black and white, and spends at most 1-2 pages per topic, so it misses out on the depth as well. To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed.

I really enjoyed this book. It covers Atari company history, Atari ST product history, as well as the author's personal history with the platform. Lendino covers the various Atari ST hardware releases and important software releases (mostly games). He also dives into the Atari ST's impact on the MIDI/music field. He covers the modern Atari ST community including emulation and recently available upgrades to the system. If you have read and enjoyed the author's previous Atari 2600, and Atari 8-bit computer books, you will enjoy this book as well. Well written, and well edited.

Having read the authors previous book on the 8 bit Ataris, I was quite pleased to see this 16 bit follow up and ordered it. Whilst the book is well written, and Iike it, there were some errors i.e. the STE secondary joystick ports are 15 pin not 9 pin, and I felt it only really skimmed the surface of the ST history and could have been more in depth. I also felt there was a bit too much emphasis on talking about software, and whilst the machines are nothing without software, the book felt padded out with these sections. I'd still recommend it, but don't expect too from it.

First and foremost, if you like, or have memories of Atari, and in particular the 16-bit to 32-bit series of computers, then this book is worth having in your collection. So let's go straight in at 5 stars! If you are learning, or new to the scene, it will prove invaluable.However, if you know your Atari computers, and know the scene, it will not particularly surprise you in terms of history, computer architecture, mods and peripherals available today. It covers everything you would expect which is a nice touch. If I was to be picky, its coverage is good, but there is so much more it could cover under its respective sections. However this book should be in your collection, and is a good source of information in one handy sized book.

This book brought back some great memories. I'll never forget buying C-Lab Creator and taking a great computer to another level. I still have an ST and an STE

Great read for those that remember the 16 bit era kicking off. Shame there aren't more photos/pics.

There weren't many details on Amazon so this felt like a bit of a gamble. I needn't have worried.Really well written, very interesting, and more than a bit useful too.