The Computers That Made Britain

by Tim Danton

The home computer boom of the 1980s brought with it now iconic machines such as the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and Commodore 64. Those machines would inspire a generation.

The Computers That Made Britain tells the story of 19 of those computers – and what happened behind the scenes. With dozens of new interviews, discover the tales of missed deadlines, technical faults, business interference, and the unheralded geniuses who brought to the UK everything from the Dragon 32 and ZX81, to the Amstrad CPC 464 and Commodore Amiga.

Genres: Nonfiction, Computers

300 pages, Hardcover

Published May 28, 2021

Reviews

[Simon Dobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed and well-researched explortion of 1980s home and school computers: the two were often the same. All the main players are here: Research Machines, Acorn, Sinclair, Amstrad, Atari, Commodore, as well as some of the lesser-known machines.

The interations between the companies are interesting, as are the beliefs and intentions of some of the individuals involved. The relationship between Acorn and Sinclair over the BBC Micro are well-known, and include a fist-fight in a Cambridge pub when Clive Sinclair thinks Chris Curry has been underhanded. But I learned a lot about how Sinclair, Alan Sugar, and several others never really believed in home computers, even as they were changing the face of Britain (and my own life). Sinclair in particular saw the future as being pocket TVs and electric cars – and so was strangely right, and radically ahead of his time.

It's strange that so much innovation happened in Britain, at a time of de-industrialisation. In many ways the times were right. It's possible to build an 8-bit computer and its operating system by hand, without enormous outlay in supporting technology – which isn't in any way to belittle the innovation and talent involved. But later generations required more industry and investment that the British players simply couldn't find, so the world moved on to IBM PCs and games consoles. I have to say I still miss the Acorns and Amstrads and Ataris I had, and it was great to see them celebrated in this book and learn more about how they came about.

[S.P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is most entertaining nostalgia bait. As someone who grew up, with all but the oldest of these computers I loved reminiscing over the ins and outs of their development and production, and I see this as a collation of all that into a historical work, albeit a quite light one.

I am of course, as an ex-Electron user, a big fan of Acorn stuff (I cannot tell you how many hours I spent programming in BBC Basic and designing Repton 3 Levels), and am of course the exact demographic that this book is aimed at. It's a shame that the font in the book is so hard to read (and small!) for my vintage's old eyes. Never mind, a small point.

Of greater concern however is the re-writing of history, most notably in the form of Sophie Wilson. Sophie was in fact Roger Wilson at the time of the BBC, Electron, and the nascent Arm, and while you could argue 'it doesn't matter' it is simply not accurate to replace Roger with Sophie retrospectively. I don't know if this is political cowardice on the part of Danton, or ideologically driven, but it definitely took me out of the story and left me wondering what other details has been airbrushed to suit imagined sensibilities, or perhaps to support an agenda?

[Mick · Rating 5 out of 5]

With lots of video game and computer history books focusing on the USA / Silicon Valley, it's always nice to read tech history from the perspective of another country (See Tristan Donovan's Replay: The History of Video Games
The Computers That Made Britain wasn't crazy in-depth, but it was still well researched, and gives a great cliff-notes version of the 19 most popular computers in the UK during the 80s.
An easy read and a good launch pad if you want to discover some other computer history books eg Brian Bagnall's Commodore series
Even though the book is available as a free/name your price .pdf, I ordered the hardcover version and it's well printed and a great book to have on the shelf.
I look forward to more books from Tim & Raspberry Pi Press.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are into your computer history there is likely to be nothing that new found here. There are other books which cover the histories of companies such as Apple, Commodore, Sinclair, and IBM in much more detail, but I don't think that matters. This book is a summary of the computers that were popular in Britain from the 70s to 90s and each computer is given enough space to cover the major points of how they were created. Even though I was familiar with most of the stories I still enjoyed reading this. The author has done a great job and given the books remit, I cannot fault it.

[Billy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. While there's plenty out there about the Amiga, Commodore 64 and Spectrum, it's much harder to find information about the likes of the Amstrad CPC and Dragon 32.

The book covers around 20 British computers (computers that were popular in Britain, not all of them designed/produced in Britain!) from the 80s and a little beyond.

Some great stories in here, well written, and quite a bit that I hadn't previously read elsewhere. And a nice further reading list at the back which I always appreciate!

[Mush · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I started off with a 48k spectrum while still at school and then went to an Atari ST, then Amiga 500 and finally a Amiga 1200. Good to read about the history and how they all came about. Fascinating read.

[Nik Barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb and nostalgic review of the early days of home computing. Each chapter covers a different machine and includes some wonderful amusing anecdotes along with technical details and the importance of each device in the context of the time. A light read but hugely enjoyable.

[James Traxler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim Danton, editor of the UK PC Pro magazine, gives us a rundown of the most popular 19 computers in the UK from the dawn of the personal computer era.

These range from 1977's Research Machines 380Z (which I wasn't aware of) to 1987's Acorn Archimedes, but the majority cluster around 1980-1985.

There's a chapter on each of them, with interesting background on the inception of them (e.g. prototyping in bedrooms and garages). Danton's usual wit is there, but the homework has been done (interviews with key people, etc.), with about the right level of depth to make for a fun and informative read. For those who seek more detail, there's plenty out there online.

As a Brit who grew up exactly at the time of the rise of these things, and who owned and learnt to program on a Sinclair ZX81 (and went into a computer career) and then owned a ZX Spectrum and Atari 520ST, this book struck a chord with me and I enjoyed it very much. If this is similar to you, then you'll enjoy this book. Anyone who didn't experience this era/didn't own machines at the time probably wouldn't be so interested.

Here's the list of computers the book covers:
1977 Research Machines 380Z
1977 Commodore PET 2001
1977 Apple II
1980+81 Sinclair ZX80 + ZX81
1980 Commodore VIC-20
1981 IBM Personal Computer (5150)
1981 BBC Micro
1982 Sinclair ZX Spectrum
1982 Dragon 32
1982 Commodore 64
1983 Acorn Electron
1984 Apple Macintosh
1984 Amstrad CPC 464
1984 Sinclair QL
1985 Atari 520ST
1985 Commodore Amiga
1985 Amstrad PCW 8256
1987 Acorn Archimedes

The CPUs in the above started out as 8-bit Zilog Z80 or MOS Technology 6502, and then from 1984, they began to evolve to 32-bit Motorola 68000 and ARM.
There's the notable exception of the 1981 IBM PC which had a 16-bit Intel 8088 with an 8-bit bus.