Electronic Dreams

Technology historian Tom Lean delivers an entertaining and affectionate account of Britain's former computing dominance. Fuelled by a wave of cheap, futuristic microcomputers in 1983 Britain enjoyed the highest level of computer ownership in the developed world. Millions of people discovered for themselves the innocent joys of programming and gaming. In those heady early days of computing, Britannia very much ruled the digital waves.

Simultaneously, the UK had several computer manufacturers. Sir Clive Sinclair's Sinclair Research was making more than any other company in the world. There was even a Welsh computer, the Dragon 32, not to mention the BBC Micro. The UK had an primitive version of the modern internet, Prestel, set up by the Post Office. And other firms would go onto form ARM.

This is a nostalgic and enjoyable book on the country's pioneering relationship with computers. Heartily recommended.