Book

Hi, I’m Steven Weyhrich, a practicing physician from Omaha, Nebraska. I’m also a former Apple II user group newsletter columnist, and have experience with this computer all the way back to 1980 and the Apple II Plus.

In the late 1980s, we enthusiasts of the Apple II felt that it was not receiving its due credit as the computer that built Apple. That other computer was getting all the attention. I set out to give the Apple II its due so that its unique place in history would not be lost. To this, I wrote a series of articles for our newsletter telling all about this computer platform, from start to finish. After they ran in our publication, I shared those stories on GEnie (pre-World Wide Web) so other user groups could run them.

But I didn’t leave it there. As more information came to light, it was incorporated into the original articles. New material was added, erroneous facts were corrected, and this allowed me to refine the history. I had help to put it on the web, and over time it continued to grow. Now I am pleased to offer my book, Sophistication & Simplicity: The Life & Times of the Apple II Computer. You can still find the original, updated history on this web site, but I heartily recommend reading the book for several reasons. First, the content in the book has been expanded, professionally edited, and refined. Second, it has a much better chronological order, an index for quickly looking up your favorite topics, several appendixes, not to mention a stylish cover reflecting the goal of sophistication and simplicity.

Reviewers on Amazon have been overwhelmingly positive about the book:

David V wrote: “I was blown away by how many chapters and how much depth this book contained … I found the details in the book to be astonishingly accurate and concise, whilst keeping my attention all the way. The amount of detail about 3rd party products, user trends, program developments and commercial landscape of the day is amazing. It brought back memories of products past and I also learn new information and facts that I did not know before …Pretty much every major fact is backed by references to other materials and thus verifiable.”

MarkM007 wrote: “This is a must read for Apple fans, especially if you are interested in the Apple II series. The book is well written, of superb quality and well documented. It contains many interesting photographs of computers, advertisements, software screen shots, peripherals and much more. it is over 500 pages of great information that is almost impossible to find in any one place. It is well worth its price.”

Chad Armstrong said: “Sophistication & Simplicity nearly flew under my radar, but I am glad to have come across this new title about Apple technologies. While most Apple-related books focus on the history of Apple, the Macintosh, or one of its founders, this book chronicles the life of the Apple II line of computers and those who took part of this history. Packed with over 500 pages worth of details from the hardware, software, peripherals, conferences, and publications, this is one of the most comprehensive computer books I’ve read. The dedication to this level of detail and research shows that this book is truly a labor of love.”

The book is published by Variant Press, is 565 pages long (including the appendices and index), and was released in December 2013. It can be ordered online from Amazon here, or from Barnes & Noble here. If you want to get it from a local book seller, ask them to order by ISBN 9780986832277. If you would like a personalized, autographed copy, order it through Juiced.GS.

Thank you for visiting my site, and your support of my many years of efforts is appreciated!