Recommend me some older Mac-centric books

[This Does Not Compute]

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).

 

[Patrick]

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.

 

[eric]

The "Dead Mac Scrolls" is a good one - more of a reference book but good to flip through and see how to address random issues.

 

[Crutch]

Any of the MacTutor anthologies are awesome if you are into vintage development at all. The are a bit hard to find if you want hard copies (be patient and set up searches on eBay and AbeBooks, it took me maybe a year but I now have all 5 volumes).

Mac Tutor Vols 1-5 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

MacTutor Volumes 1 through 5

archive.org

 

[KnobsNSwitches]

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]

Another comprehensive book that captures the spirit of being a serious Mac user in the mid-'90s is MacWeek's Upgrading and Repairing Your Mac.

 

[wottle]

 

[RetroViator]

Of course, we're jumping past the most obvious: Insanely Great by Steven Levy.

 

[SteveHere]

I quite enjoyed Andy Hertzfeld's book...

Amazon.com

and I also enjoyed this talk he gave about the early years before he went on the Mac project. Surprised at how few views this had...

 

[Elemenoh]

I really like How Macs Work. Lots of great illustrations and a clear explanations.

How Macs Work

A guide to the MacIntosh features discussions of what i…

www.goodreads.com

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

How Macs Work, Millennium Edition by Rizzo, John, Clark, K. Daniel: Good (2000) | Wonder Book

ISBN: 9780789724281 - Soft cover - Que - 2000 - Condition: Good - Good condition. Millennium edition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. - How Macs Work, Millennium Edition

www.abebooks.com

 

[Ubik]

You may have already read this, but The Secret History Of Mac Gaming: Expanded Edition is fun, although it took me fovever to get through as I was downloading from Macintosh Garden and playing along the way!
Update: I realize this is not "older" of course.

 

[Crutch]

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]

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.

 

[Patrick]

Thanks for the link. thats a really neat resource.

are their a few you particularly like?

 

[nilobject]

Apple ResEdit Reference(awesome read):

https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/mac/pdf/ResEditReference.pdf

I grew up with this resedit book:
ResEdit Complete

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/resedit-complete-disk

ResEdit complete : Alley, Peter, 1956- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Macintosh Inside Out ResEdit Complete 1991

archive.org

The ResEdit Diner 1993

https://vintageapple.org/macprogramming/pdf/The_Res_Edit_All_Night_Diner_1993.pdf