Recommend me some older Mac-centric books

This Does Not Compute

Administrator
Staff member
Oct 27, 2021
288
432
63
www.youtube.com
Out of curiosity I've been reading Bob Brant's "Build Your Own Macintosh and Save a Bundle" and found it to be quite interesting. The technical contents aren't exactly remarkable, but it's a great time capsule of what being a Mac owner was like in the late 80s/early 90s. Are there any other books like it that I should check out? The Macintosh Bible is a bit too encyclopedic for what I'm looking for, and I've already read through The Macintosh Way (which isn't a technical book but engaging nonetheless).
 
  • Like
Reactions: eric

Patrick

Tinkerer
Oct 26, 2021
434
1
224
43
As a youngster I remember reading "Build Your Own Macintosh and Save a Bundle" and day dreaming about having my own Computer instead of having to share the family computer. Where I could do whatever i want with it.

Another book I liked from that period was The Mac Bathroom Reader by Owen W. Linzmayer

its a light history book. not very technical.
 

KnobsNSwitches

Tinkerer
Nov 2, 2021
37
41
18
Don't forget David Pogue's 'Hard Drive' novel, featuring lots of Macs. Not technical (being a novel and all) but still relevant subject matter.
 

RetroViator

Tinkerer
Oct 30, 2021
83
104
33
retroviator.com

Attachments

  • IMG_7992.jpg
    IMG_7992.jpg
    2.2 MB · Views: 54

Elemenoh

Active Tinkerer
Oct 18, 2021
384
374
63
Bay Area
I really like How Macs Work. Lots of great illustrations and a clear explanations.



There was even a revision for later-90's things
 

Crutch

Tinkerer
Jul 10, 2022
293
228
43
Chicago
I really like How Macs Work. Lots of great illustrations and a clear explanations.
Nice tip, hadn’t seen this one before - and I quite enjoyed that it has a 1-star review on Amazon because someone complained that the material was dated … in 2001 😊 Sounds like it’s just right for us!
 

PL212

New Tinkerer
Dec 25, 2022
24
12
3
I have about seventy books that I categorize as “Classic Macintosh’, a list is online here:

https://www.librarything.com/catalog/pleonard/classicmacintosh

There’s a bias towards graphic design, typography and DTP, partly because those are what really gave the Mac a market foothold despite it’s price. You’ll also see the book-length BMUG Newsletters in there; they (together with similar volumes from BCS-Mac) are a real treasure trove of what folks were actually interested in doing with computers before the internet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eric and Patrick

Patrick

Tinkerer
Oct 26, 2021
434
1
224
43
Thanks for the link. thats a really neat resource.

are their a few you particularly like?