too much Fun: The five lives of the commodore 64 computer
Out now!! December 10th, 2024.
Order online, or at your local bookstore: MIT Press, Amazon US CA UK DE IT JP FR ES, Saxo (Denmark), Bokus (SE), Penguin, B&N, Bookshop, Indigo, BAM.
This site contains supporting material for the book, including videos and running programs. Select chapters in the menu.
Scheduled talks
- December 5th at Videojogos’24.
- December 12th at MADE in Oakland CA and online.
- January 31st at Dansk Dataforening, Copenhagen.
- Feb 7th online at ROMchip.
- Mar 27th at Subotron, Vienna.
Reviews
“Commodore founders' personalities are expertly presented in this recommended book that offers insight into how and why corporate and marketing decisions were made.”
Library Journal
"You might get the impression that [Too Much Fun] is a simple revisiting of the C64 in the time of its heyday—but it’s actually a much stranger book than that. . . . [Juul] keeps surprising you with original bits of data journalism. . . . I highly recommend Too Much Fun. It’s both a needed corrective to other history books, and a book in a category all its own."
Polygon
Endorsements
“Jesper Juul has provided a long-needed addition to the Platform Studies series. It's a wonderful book, as readable as it is informative.”
Jimmy Maher, author of The Future was Here: The Commodore Amiga
“A beautiful, sincere, and rich account of everything that makes this influential computer so special to me: that unique punk stew of technology, creativity, culture, people, and zeitgeist.”
Gary Penn, editor of Zzap!64; inaugural Games Media Legend; author of Sensible Software 1986–1999; Creative Director at DMA Design
“In this standout contribution to the Platform Studies series, Juul illuminates the overlooked career of the Commodore 64 home computer by integrating the perspectives of hardware designers, marketeers, game programmers, demo creators, and retrocomputing enthusiasts.”
Thomas Haigh, lead author of ENIAC in Action and A New History of Modern Computing
“As someone who has a wealth of knowledge on this subject, this book is 'highly recommended reading,' so do not hesitate—just buy this book and rejoice.”
David John Pleasance, musician, former Managing Director, Commodore UK, author of Commodore: The Inside Story