When the PCjr was announced in 1983, most people in the industry thought it was going to be as successful as the IBM PC, IBM's runaway hit from 1981. In preperation for this anticipated success, over 50 books were created for the IBM PCjr, from a gentle introduction to personal computing in general, to beginner BASIC programming, all the way to low-level hardware information about what was new on PCjr. Unfortunately, a lot of people jumped on the bandwagon and created "literary shovelware": IBM PC "learn to program BASIC" books that were quickly repurposed for the PCjr by adding a short PCjr-specific section at the front of the book. As a result, there was a lot of overlapping material with other "Learn BASIC" books. Some books marketed as specifically covering the PCjr only barely scratched the surface of Cartridge BASIC's enhanced screen and sound extensions, which is one of the primary reasons you'd want a PCjr-specific book in the first place. If you're here and reading this, you're probably wondering "Are any of these books worth my time?" Thankfully, many of them are. If you are short on time and only want to read the cream of the crop, I suggest: =====[ Highly Recommended ]============================================= Hands-On BASIC For The IBM PCjr: Wait a second, isn't this the BASIC manual that comes with every PCjr? Yes! It is a great introduction to BASIC, with PCjr-specific illustrations, and applies to both built-in Cassette BASIC as well as the enhanced Cartridge BASIC. Enhanced color and sound are also covered. The TIME-LIFE Step-by-Step Guide to the IBM PCjr: Wonderful photographs, and skims the surface of all things PCjr. A light, quick, enjoyable read. Start here first. Sound and Graphics for the IBM PCjr: Has a unique and enjoyable perspective on covering the material. It has lots of good illustrations that go into the core concepts of what it is trying to teach, rather than getting hung up on only BASIC code. It also is one of the few books to cover usage of storage on audio cassettes, something only the IBM PC 5150 and IBM PCjr could do out of all IBM PCs. Telecommunications with the IBM PCjr: This is the only book in the list that might still be relevant to hobbyists in 2020 and beyond: Connecting your PCjr to various communication services. It covers what serial and modem connectivity PCjr had, including typical and mainframe/terminal access, and is a historical overview of the various information services (Compuserve, Dow Jones, The Source, BBSes, etc.) you could connect to before the rise of the Internet. Well-illustrated with a lot of historical photos. Covers the basics of communication protocols and encoding. It even includes a complete BASIC program with XMODEM transfer if you are starting from absolute zero software. Discovering the IBM PCjr Home Computer and Exploring the IBM PCjr Home Computer: These are Peter Norton's books, who not many people know was an early champion of the PCjr. The content topics and depth of these books are all over the place, but they are the most polished and slick books about the PCjr and are worth checking out. The latter book, Exploring, goes into sufficient technical depth to appease tech-heads who want to know exactly how PCjr differs, and is enhanced, from the IBM PC. (There was a third book announced in the series, but it was never finished due to the PCjr's untimely demise.) =====[ Also worth reading if you want a deeper dive ]=================== IBM PCjr For Students: A well-illustrated guide to the fundamentals of using and programming a personal computer, using the IBM PCjr as the example. Covers BASIC programming as well as PCjr-specific hardware and configuration. This is a good choice for anyone wanting to learn BASIC on the PCjr and understand WHY things happen the way they do. If you liked the TIME-LIFE book and wanted more of a deeper dive in the same vein, look to this. The Complete Guide to Success with the IBM PCjr: This is a well-rounded guide for anyone new to the entire concept of personal computers in general. Indeed, it covers the care and maintenance of a computer, down to what room you should place it in and how you should sit while using it! Reading it gives the modern reader an insight into what the introduction of personal computers was like at the dawn of personal computing. Kids and the IBM PC & PCjr or: COMPUTE's Kids and the IBM PC & PCjr: Despite "PCjr" in the title, this is mostly an IBM PC-only BASIC book. However, it's one of the best I've seen that teaches the fundamentals of programming in BASIC. Cute illustrations also get a chuckle out of adults here and there. If you have ever wanted to learn IBM PC BASIC from the ground up, this is one of the best books to start with. (The same material was published two years later in 1985 as "COMPUTE's Kids and the IBM PCjr". It claims to be revised, but I couldn't determine how.) COMPUTE's Mapping the IBM PC and PCjr: This is the total opposite of the "Kids and the IBM PC and PCjr": A very technical dive into the hardware of the PCjr. All examples given with tools (DOS, DEBUG, BASIC) that come with the PCjr. Not a subtitute for the IBM PCjr technical reference, but definitely a more enjoyable read. =====[ Terrible -- do not waste your time ]============================= PCjr Primer: Despite the presence of an errata sheet, I counted an average of one factual mistake *per page* in the book, and the content goes all over the place without being deep in any one area (except MULTIPLAN). One of the very worst "PCjr" books. --Trixter, 20200801 PS: All the books in this directory are my original scans. They sacrificed themselves so that you, dear reader, could learn of the PCjr legacy they contain! Please feel free to spread these files far and wide. As for why some of the scans are high-quality 600 DPI and some others are lesser-quality 300 DPI, that was a judgement call made by me according to a books quality, or if it was historically relevant.