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The Computers That Made Britain: The Home Computer Revolution of the 1980s

The Computers That Made Britain: The Home Computer Revolution of the 1980s

Bottom line: The The Computers That Made Britain: The Home Computer Revolution of the ($20.24 on Amazon as of 2026-10-21 10:23 UTC): Hardcover edition holds up to repeat reference reading; main trade-off: britain-focused, so US machines like the Apple II get less space.

$20.24

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By , Founder & Editor-in-Chief · Listing data updated

Mike Perry — Hardware researcher since 2014. For retro PC hardware and period-correct parts, synthesises manufacturer documentation, community compatibility lists and marketplace listings rather than first-hand lab testing. Core beat: GPU performance across gaming, rendering, and local-LLM inference.

*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-21. Price and availability subject to change.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • ✓ Hardcover edition holds up to repeat reference reading
  • ✓ Covers the 1980s UK home computer boom machine by machine
  • ✓ Written by Tim Danton, a long-running UK computing journalist

Cons

  • ✗ Britain-focused, so US machines like the Apple II get less space
  • ✗ Hardcover only in this edition, heavier than a paperback to travel with
  • ✗ No product features listed here beyond format and author
  • ✗ Narrow 1980s window skips later 16-bit and PC-era machines

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SpecPicks Verdict

SpecPicks scored The Computers That Made Britain: The Home Computer Revolution of the… using a rating × review-volume × price-fit model applied to published specs and reviews across the retro reference & guides category. Tim Danton(Author)Format:Hardcover's retro reference & guides lineup sits within the broader category mid-tier; price and specs are the deciding factors over brand loyalty here. Judge it on the specification table and the price rather than on sentiment: check the figures that decide your use case, then put it side-by-side with two or three close alternatives in the Compare tool before clicking through.

Common buyer scenarios for retro reference & guides of this kind: matching it to an existing build, replacing a failing part, or upgrading from a previous-generation equivalent. Check the spec table below against your current setup — particularly socket / form-factor / power-rating fields — and confirm compatibility on the retailer's listing before purchase. Prices and stock are set by the retailer and may have moved since this page was last updated.

Full Specifications

BrandTim Danton(Author)Format:Hardcover

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Buy on Amazon — $20.24

*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-21. Price and availability subject to change.

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The Computers That Made Britain: The Home Computer Revolution of the 1980s
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