As well as their extensive software range, Melbourne House were well known for releasing a wide selection of programming books for most 8-bit platforms. These were considered to be essential reading, especially coming from such a high profile publisher. While most were system specific, a few were generic multi-format titles.
We’ll update this over time adding more systems, titles and credits and additional details for as many of these as we can identify.
Updated: 28th April 2025
Multiformat
| Title | Author | Cover Art |
| 6502 Reference Guide | Alan Tully | |
| A Guide To Playing The Hobbit | David Elkan | |
| C For Beginners | Ian Sinclair | |
| Learning With Adventure Programs | Rosetta McLeod | |
| The Computer And Video Games Book Of Adventure | Keith Campbell | |
| Z80 Reference Guide | Alan Tully |
Amstrad
| Title | Author | Cover Art |
| Advanced Amstrad BASIC | Joe Pritchard | |
| Amstrad CPC464 Whole Memory Guide | Don Thomasson | |
| Amstrad Games Book CPC464 & CPC664 | Kevin Bergin Andrew Lacey |
|
| Amstrad Machine Language for the Absolute Beginner | Joe Pritchard | |
| Music & Sound On Your Amstrad | Ian Sinclair | |
| Ready Made Machine Language Routines for the Amstrad CPC464/664 | Joe Pritchard | |
| The Ins & Outs Of The Amstrad | Don Thomasson | |
| The User’s Guide to the Amstrad PCW8256/8512 | Don Thomasson | |
| Writing Adventure Games On The Amstrad CPC464/CPC664 | Mike Lewis Simon Price |
Atari
| Title | Author | Cover Art |
| Atari 130XE Games Book | Richard Woolcock, Graeme Stretton |  |
| Atari 130XE Machine Language for the Absolute Beginner | Kevin Bergin |  |
BBC
| Title | Author | Cover Art |
| BBC BASIC For Beginners | David Smith | |
| BBC Hardware Projects | Don Thomasson | |
| BBC Software Projects | Rudolf Smit | |
| Building Blocks For BBC Games | Bruce Bayley | |
| Guide To The BBC ROMs | Don Thomasson |
Commodore 16
| Title | Author | Cover Art |
| C16 Machine Language for the Absolute Beginner |  |
|
| Commodore 16 Exposed | Cameron Duffy, Richard Woolcock | |
| Commodore 16 Games Book | Cameron Duffy, Richard Woolcock |  |
Commodore 64
| Title | Author | Cover Art |
| Commodore 64 Exposed | Bruce Bayley | |
| Commodore 64 Games Book | Clifford and Mark Ramshaw | |
| Commodore 64 Games Book 2 | Gregg Barnett |  |
| Commodore 64 Machine Language For The Absolute Beginner | Danny Davis | |
| Commodore 64 Software Projects | Rudolf Smit | |
| Commodore 64 Sound & Graphics | Peter Falconer | |
| Supercharge Your Commodore 64 | Barry Thomas |
Note: The title for Commodore 64 Software Projects seems to vary from the front and rear cover as well as inside the book itself!
Dragon 32
| Title | Author | Cover Art |
| Dragon 32 Programmers Reference Guide | John Vander Reyden | |
| Dragon Machine Language For The Absolute Beginner | John Vander Reyden |  |
| Enter The Dragon | Colin Carter |
MSX
| Title | Author | Cover Art |
| MSX Exposed | Joe Pritchard | |
| MSX Games Book | Andrew Lacey | |
| MSX Machine Language For The Absolute Beginner | Joe Pritchard | |
| The Conplete MSX Programmers Guide | Toshiyuki Sato Paul Mapstone Isabella Mueiel |
Oric-1
| Title | Author | Cover Art |
| Meteoric Programming For The Oric-1 |  |
Vic 20
| Title | Author | Cover Art |
| Vic 20 Exposed | John Vander Reyden |  |
| Vic Innovative Computing | Clifford Ramshaw |
ZX Spectrum
| Title | Author | Cover Art |
| Advanced Spectrum Machine Language | David Webb | |
| Over The Spectrum | Philip Williams |  |
| Spectrum Hardware Manual | Adrian Dickens | |
| Spectrum Machine Language for the Absolute Beginner | William Tang |  |
| Spectrum Shadow ROM Disassembly | Gianluca Carri | |
| Super Charge Your Spectrum | David Webb | |
| The Complete Spectrum ROM Disassembly | Dr Ian Logan, Dr Frank O’Hara | |
| Understanding Your Spectrum: Basic and Machine Code Programming | Dr Ian Logan |
More titles, details and cover art to be added shortly.
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