Once Upon Atari - by Howard Scott Warshaw (Paperback)

About the Book

Video games set the world on fire, and Atari lit the match. Once Upon ATARI is a must read for everyone in hi-tech creative production!

Book Synopsis

Video games set the world on fire, and Atari lit the match. This is an intimate view into the dramatic rise and fall of the early video game industry, as seen through the eyes of one of its most iconic pioneers. This book offers eye-opening details and insights, laying bare the issues and dynamics still taking place in modern software companies. A must read for anyone in high tech production, delivered in a compelling narrative, with a fresh voice and unorthodox style.

How much fun can you have inventing video games in a creative paradise? What behind-the-scenes corporate intrigue went on while making billions of dollars and launching a new medium? What really caused the video game crash of 1983? ONCE UPON ATARI is the inside story of how it all happened, and how it upended the life of one of its key players. An innovative work from one of the industry's original innovators, delivered in a creative style that mirrors the industry it reveals. It is a compelling tale of innocence, joy, greed, devastation and ultimately redemption.

Review Quotes

"Once Upon Atari is, ostensibly, a book about nostalgic videogames; a tale set in a golden era that for many of us represents the dawn of an art form that has irrevocably and powerfully changed our lives and our world. And, as a personal history of these times, it is a moving and emotional trip, filled with interesting details and stories as told by someone so deeply inside them as to have been a part of their essential fabric. But that's not the soul of this book, which is, in its true heart, the journey of a man - a programmer of immense talent - sucked in by a machine of greed and spat out, carelessly, after giving all and everything to it. A journey of learning and redemption, set against a world all about the seemingly magical, effortless creation of fun and joy. This wonderful book is the capstone of that journey, and to read it is to be a part of that odyssey, and to partake in the lessons that it challenges us to learn."

-Seamus Blackley, Father of the XBox

"Howard sheds light on Atari's most tumultuous period. If you want to understand the true story of the video game crash, I highly recommend this book."

- Nolan Bushnell, Atari Founder

"In those few years that Howard was at Atari, he experienced more than most of us ever will over decades of working in this crazy field. All of the extreme highs and deep lows were condensed into a short exhaustive burn that's both beautiful and serves as an allegory for the pitfalls of unchecked creative sacrifice. This book is just as much for those interested in the early days of video games as it is for anyone giving their all to any kind of creative endeavor. He looks back from the vantage point of an accomplished therapist, not with any warning or overt guidance, but with the contagious excitement of someone who is content with the role he's played, and optimistic about the future of an industry he helped create. I've worked in games for over twenty-five years, and I've known Howard for most of them. I can honestly say that he represents the heart and soul of our industry more than anyone else I know."

-Mike Mika, Video Game Developer, Author and Historian

"Once Upon Atari" brings me right back to my childhood video game days, living in Silicon Valley where it was all unfolding. Howard pulls back the curtain on an industry that exploded into our family rooms with his help, and shares incredible behind the scenes stories of how that curtain came crashing down in the most unlikely place. A must-read.

- Bret Burkhart, Broadcaster, KGO Radio