Unlike some other books, this Basic programming guide appears to have been written with the Amstrad specifically in mind and attempts to teach both programming and an understanding of the commands in Amstrad Basic. This book was written when the 464 first appeared and therefore does not contain information on the 664 and 6128. However considering the nature of the book, it is equally usable and relevant to beginners on the other micros. It gets you started, familiarizes the user with the concept of programming and leads the user by the hand through the jungle of commands that provide the Amstrad machine with its impressive range of sound and graphics. The chapter on sound and music is brief and looks like an added extra quickly thrown in. The remainder of the book, through covering a great deal of ground, is dull in presentation. A few more diagrams and better page layout would have done the book a world of good. Wynford James writes in a friendly manner and obviously knows his subject. However, I was left with a feeling that given slightly more imagination, this book could have been much better that it appears. The author has attempted to write for the complete beginner and those with a working knowledge of Basic. It almost works except that the beginner may want an easier and friendlier introduction and the more competent user, less of the fundamentals. But, as an introduction to programming your CPC machine, you could do a lot worse. ACU #8602 | 
