I keep an eye on Atari eBay auctions in case something interesting pops up. One thing I’m a big fan of are magazines (check out my ANALOG collection) and books. I had a ton of Atari 8-bit related books back in the day, but of course they had been sold off long ago.

I had been watching a few books, in particular several from the Compute! series such as First Book of Atari, Mapping the Atari, etc. There would often be copies on eBay, but they were going for $15-$25 a book. Although that’s probably less than what they cost back in the 80s (accounting for inflation), it would add up quickly.

But I then found someone selling a bunch of Atari-related books and stuff in one big bundle. I kept a close eye on it and ended up winning it, getting 30+ books and things delivered in a big box less than a week later.

Check out the unboxing video:

Here’s a complete list of the stuff in the box, with some commentary:

• Compute!’s First Book of Atari

• Compute!’s Second Book of Atari

• Compute!’s First Book of Atari Graphics

• Compute!’s Mapping the Atari

• Inside Atari DOS

  • I had all the Compute! books back in the 80s. I extremely happy to have these, although there are still a couple others I am missing.

• ACE (Portland, Oregon) Newsletters, Vol. I

• ACE (Portland, Oregon) Newsletters, Vol. II

  • This was one of the first sources of Atari information, appearing before there were even any magazines. Vol. I appears to be online, but I’m not sure if Vol. II is online.

• The Home Filing Manager original box and diskette

• Atari BASIC Quick Reference Guide

• Atari Home Computers Catalog

• Atari 400/800 BASIC Reference Manual

• Atari 400/800 Disk Operating System II Reference Manual

• The Creative Atari

  • By David Small, one of my favorite Atari authors.

• The ANALOG Compendium

  • This fully completes my ANALOG collection!

• Atari Home Computer Product Catalog

• The Atari 810 Disk Drive: Introduction to the DOS

• Atari 400/800 Telekin I manual

• Consumer Guide: The User’s Guide to Atari Computers

• Current Notes, April 1987

  • This is now the oldest copy of Current Notes that I have!

• Atari 400/800 Personal Computer manuals

• Atari Sound and Graphics

• Conquering Adventure Games

• Atari BASIC book

• Dr. C Wacko’s Miracle Guide to Atari Computer Arcade Games

  • I also had this book as a kid.

• Atari Color Graphics

• Inside Atari BASIC

• Atari DOS 3 Reference Manual

  • This DOS was a fiasco!

• Your Atari Computer

• Atari Games & Recreations

• User’s Handbook to the Atari 400/800 Computers

• Atari BASIC Tutorial

• Atari Pilot for Beginners

I realize that most, if not all, of these are scanned and available online, but there is something about holding a physical book in your hands that brings out peak nostalgia.

What was your favorite Atari book?