I bloody well knew it - Brian Bagnell wants yet more time and more money

[BozzerBigD]

What does he mean by 3 ebooks?

Is it that we've received the first pre-release already (book 1 covering 1982 to 1985). Book 2 would be cover the same time period but go to 1987 and 'The Final Years' would cover the period 1987 to 1994. Is this right? The only hardcopy we get would be book 2 'The Amiga Years' (1982 - 1987)?

I don't mind as long as the story gets told to readdress Apple's historical distortion field ;-) Saying that I wish some libraries would stock the hard copies.

[BozzerBigD]

@Thread

I think I understand this now. On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore was an overview first edition that is now no longer available.

The 'first' book as referred to is Commodore: A Company on the Edge and is available for £90 used and £11.39 for the Kindle edition but is not included in the Kickstarter.

The 'second' book is the one we've funded Commodore: The Amiga Years. Which we will get in both eBook form and hard copy (depending on the level of backing).

The 'third' book will be called Commodore: The Final Years and we will only receive an eBook copy as it stands unless we sign up to a new Kickstarter.

Is this correct?

[BozzerBigD]

@Thread

To be honest I wish I'd backed the David Pleasance book now as given the choice I'm far more interested in his view of the last days of Commodore UK than the official Commodore Business Machines (West Chester operated/Bahamas incorporated) story. Quite frankly the bungled release of the A300/A600, the A3000+ debacle and the disapointing A4000 release is better served from a UK perspective where C= UK still managed to sell a fair few of these machines.

[BozzerBigD]

@Thread

At least if we preorder David Pleasance's book we are guaranteed the full story in two books before Nov 2017! I can't say I expect the second Amiga Years printed book to be ready by then.

https://downtimepublishing.com/products/commodore-the-inside-story

[BozzerBigD]

@arttu80

I'm in agreement (although the language is a bit fruity ;-)). Give Bagnall a break. It's not as if he isn't a proven writer. I love On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore and although it was been proven to be factually inaccurate in places it's only because of Brian's continued research that we are even aware that this 2006 book had some blind spots! It's not as if there is any one else in the computer press that actually knows what happened at Commodore (or seems to care these days). This needs to be catalogued for prosperity and for when people decide to stop blowing smoke rings up Apple's bottom! Split the book, reassess the printing costs and send us the bill for the difference if need be on the second kickstarter. Brian better make the stretch goal presents flipping amazing though ;-)

[BozzerBigD]

@Pentad

Look at it this way, it could be worse, we could be in the Atari camp.  Nobody seems to be willing to write or film the history of their  computer line (which is sad, I would like to know more).

There  is lots of cross over between Atari/Commodore. Firstly, from the fact  that Jack Tramiel headed up the Atari ST development after being kicked  out of C=. Secondly, Jay Miner designed the Atari 400 and 800 before the  Lorraine/Amiga. There is no Amiga story without passing reference to  these machines. As to the details of Atari development outside of the  games/coin up machines I couldn't really care less. The story of the  development of Star Raiders for the 400/800 would be more interesting as  the Amiga 1000 was Jay Miner's crowning achievement not Atari  chips/consoles. Also, the Atari ST (and I speak as an ex-owner) was an  Amiga 500 without the amazing custom chips but with MIDI built in. Now  again, unless you want the story of White Town - 'Your Woman' and Atari STs being used in music production I'm not sure the rest of the story is worth telling.

[BozzerBigD]

@Pentad

Atari fans might like a book about Atari home computers but the reality is they are dull compared to the GAMES Atari produced. Atari and the iconic logo are remenbered because of the coin ups and the games produced. 4-player Gauntlet 2 cabinets etc. Commodore hardly produced any worthwhile software apart from Workbench and DiskSalv! That is the reality. Nolan Bushnell lived and breathed GAMES and that's what should be remembered.

[BozzerBigD]

@Thread

The final decision is...

...the book is being split! Let's all wish Brian the best as he completes these two books and around 1000 pages of Amiga history!

[BozzerBigD]

@BuBBoB

So ask for your money back and buy 'Amiga: The Future was Here' instead! Sheesh it's just a book it's not as if you lost £1000 investing in Amiga Inc. or something ;-)

[BozzerBigD]

He's asked the backers for help with the proof reading and to spot any instances of repetition but the hard editing decisions are his to make. I can't see how that can be sped up. He's got 99% of the content nailed down I think it just needs to fit into two books, have the correct layout and make sure it reads right i.e. the right emphasis and the best stories.

[BozzerBigD]

@LoadWB & Oldsmobile_Mike

Hilarious! And yet it's not really a comparison as Brian Bagnall has already delivered good books and is a reputable author. Viva Amiga is a delayed documentary of questionable quality compared to Bedrooms to Billions: The Amiga Years produced by Zach Weddington!! Who is Zach Weddington you ask?

Ref: http://www.generationamiga.com/2016/12/28/interview-with-zach-weddington/

Zach Weddington has a well-established background as a professional video maker. VIVA Amiga is his first documentary film...

There lies the problem.... he was an unproven documentary creator. Brian is a proven author who can deliver a quality product.

[BozzerBigD]

Well, at least I was hooked off the stage

Wacka wacka!

[BozzerBigD]

@BuBBob
It's just a book :-)

Cheer up at least we know he's written books in the past! Viva Amiga was the guys first documentary ... ever!!!