Since its debut in 1994 as the first serious book about videogame history, Phoenix has been regarded worldwide as the Bible of videogame history by professionals and fans alike. Now in its fourth edition, the text of this deluxe hardcover volume has been completely rewritten and updated to include videogame history through 2016. Illustrated with over 1000 COLOR photos from Atari to Zeebo, Pong to PlayStation, and arranged chronologically, Phoenix remains the first place to start any study of gaming history.
Review :
Leonard Herman has done it again. If you really want to be able to have access to a videogame history that is thoroughly researched, then his new book covering the vast videogame history scene is for you.
Ralph Baer - Inventor of the home videogame console
Filled with incredible detail and eyewitness accounts of the industry from its roots in the late '60s to the boom of the 1990s, Phoenix (in any of its editions) is still the first place to start any study of gaming history.
Game Informer magazine
Phoenix is a must-read, must-study, must-own for anyone proclaiming a love for the gaming industry. Now that it's on its fourth edition, I can all but promise you it's 5,000 times more accurate than Wikipedia.
Dan "Shoe" Hsu, former editor-in-chief, Gamesbeat and EGM
Phoenix is one of the most impressive and comprehensive accounts of the history of video games. I refer to it often and I'm continually surprised by the sheer magnitude of content in each revision.
Mike Mika, Game Developer and Game Historian
Clearly written and thoroughly researched, Phoenix is the cornerstone upon which every serious videogame enthusiast should start building their own library.
Dr. Roberto Dillon, author of The Golden Age of Video Games
The video game industry has a true historian. His name is Leonard Herman. The video game industry has a history of record. Its title is Phoenix.
Steven Kent, author of The Ultimate History of Video Games
Anyone who loves video games and wants a fact-filled deep dive into its origins, evolution, and key players - as well as ancillary technologies like home computers and the Internet - should look no further than Leonard Herman's fourth edition of Phoenix. Easy to pick up but hard to put down, Herman's 800+-page tome is a fun and insightful read that chronologically covers the video game personalities, iconic games, platforms, and publications - from Atari to Zelda. While the previous third edition was ideal for retro gamers with nostalgic leaning towards the '70s, '80s and '90s, this ambitious new fourth edition version also covers current consoles, platforms, and services, up until 2015. Young or old, gamers will no doubt appreciate the effort poured into this massive book.
Marc Saltzman, syndicated columnist, author, speaker and TV/radio personality
An incredible treasure trove of information. Perfect for gamers, collectors or anyone looking to take a fascinating stroll down memory lane.
Blake J. Harris, author of Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation
People calling themselves 'game historians' today should be using Phoenix as their backup for fact-checking. Len isn't just this industry's first historian, he lived through and clearly enjoyed the history as it was being made.
Joe Santulli, Curator, National Videogame Museum
Leonard Herman is the original videogame historian, and Phoenix is where the serious study of the game industry began. I'm super excited to see the updates in the latest edition.
Chris Charla, Director, ID@Xbox at Microsoft
For the past decade, I have exclusively used Phoenix in my college classrooms. No other publication is as accurate, complete, wide-ranging, comprehensive, all-embracing, thorough and extensive as Leonard Herman's weighty tome. This is the book that experts, such as myself, respect and use as a resource.
Professor Michael Thomasson, Canisius College
