This list is for anyone who grew up in the 1970s or 1980s with an Atari 2600 game system or Atari 800 home computer. Must have books on the history and use of these old systems. I have all of these books in my personal collection and have very much e...
Great introduction to the Atari 2600 video game system
Racing the Beam: Atari Video Computer System
Another great intro to the Atari 2600 video game system. Part of my personal collection.
Adventure: Atari 2600 Dawn of Console Gaming
Jamie Lendino is one of my favorite retro authors. This is a great intro and history of the Atari 800 computer and its relatives. Must have!!
Breakout: How Atari 8-Bit Defined a Generation
An amazing Atari picture book full of original artwork and images. Great for the coffee table!
Art of Atari
An amazingly detailed and thorough history of the early days of Atari. The lead author passed a few years ago. He was a real loss to the community.
Atari Inc.: Business is Fun
A firsthand account of the making of the E.T. game cartridge for the Atari 2600 and how it gets blamed for the video game crash of 1983. Written by an Atari employee. Great story!
Once Upon Atari: How I Made History
Another amazing book by Jamie Lendino. This one is a history of the Atari ST 16-bit computer that featured the 68000 processor and was the successor to the Atari 800 computer line.
Faster Than Light: Atari ST & 16-Bit Revolution
A shameless plug for my own book. I cover 50 fun projects for the Atari 8-bit computers in a simple how-to format.
Atari Projects
Another solid history of Atari. Also look for the video.
Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master: Pong & Atari
A great technical book on programming the Atari 2600 in 6502 assembly language. Was a great resource for me when I programmed my game Gene Medic.
Making Games for the Atari 2600 (8bitworkshop)
Another great resource for learning to program the Atari 2600 (which is not easy!)
Programming Games for Atari 2600 by Toledo Gutierrez
A reproduced book from the 1980s on programming Atari home computers in assembly language. I really love these reproductions! Brand new old books!
Atari 130XE Machine Language for Beginners
This was the essential starter reference for the Atari computers in the early 1980s. I read this book cover to cover and typed in many of the example BASIC programs. A must have!
