Few people have heard of it, yet many consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercial personal computer.
On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore
By James Grahame
This well researched 548 page hardcover book tells the story
of Commodore through 44 hours of interviews with former engineers and managers.
"The Commodore years are tumultuous, owing to their volatile founder, Jack Tramiel. He pushes his team to extreme limits, demanding that they almost kill themselves to meet his lofty expectations. Against all odds, his engineers deliver more color, more character, and more value than either Apple or IBM.
While other companies receive more press, Commodore sells more computers. They cut a path of destruction through the competition, knocking out Sinclair, Tandy, Texas Instruments, and Atari and badly hurting Apple.
Unfortunately, Tramiel's cut throat tactics also prove to be his undoing. He uses up his managers and employees like disposable ink cartridges, producing the highest employee turnover rate in the industry."
On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore (buying from Amazon supports Retro Thing)
