NEW AMIGA BOOK: Bootblock Rebels - The Hidden Stars of the Amiga Underground

[Marcio D.]

Book title:  Bootblock Rebels - The Hidden Stars of the Amiga Underground - Stories from the Amiga Cracking Scene.

Author:  Steen Jessen.

Pages:  200+

Physical Format:
- Hardcover.
- A4 size (210mm x 297mm).
- Offset color print on 115g G-Print paper.

Digital version available:  Yes.


Please visit the following page:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitman/bootblock-rebels


From the author:
"I’ve launched a Kickstarter for a book about the Commodore Amiga cracking scene, covering the early years (1985), the peak era (1990-1993), and the decline of the active scene around 1996."


Key Topics Covered:

- The origins of Amiga cracking: First pioneers and groups.

- The rise of elite groups and zero-day releases.

- Major cracking groups, their members and how they worked.

- Hierarchy of a cracking group: Suppliers, Crackers, BBS Operators, Swappers.

- How original games were acquired and leaked.

- The BBS underground: modem-based distribution.

- Race to release: Get your crack out first or get nuked.

- Interviews with legendary crackers and sysops.

- The hidden economy of cracking: funding, calling cards, and BBS profits.

- Rivalries and wars between major groups.

- The evolution of crack intros.

- Cracking tools, methods, and techniques.

- The biggest cracks and infamous game releases.

- Copy protections and how they were defeated.

- Busting operations: police raids, F.A.S.T., and legal consequences.

- Game publishers’ response: Their view on the Amiga scene.

- Games modified by crackers: Fixes, built-in errors, and hidden messages.

- Almost everything there is to know about Amiga cracking.


More Information:

- 70% of the manuscript is already complete - only final details and layout remain.

- Steen is an experienced IT project manager; he has successfully run numerous complex projects.

- Steen has been the maintainer of www.BigBookOfAmigaHardware.com since 2013, demonstrating his dedication to the Amiga community.

- Steen is a scene member, not a journalist.  This will be reflected in the book's authentic, insider perspective.


Watch Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkb0jH6dTOY

[Marcio D.]

Amiga Bill recommends Bootblock Rebels:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKsqHjSRzyk



Bootblock Rebels has been selected by Kickstarter as a Project We Love.





Support the campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitman/bootblock-rebels

[Marcio D.]

The campaign has reached 100% funding based on €22,000 pledged!  Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen.

New pledges are being accepted until March 15, 2026 so please contribute to get your own copy of the book:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitman/bootblock-rebels


The author has introduced two stretch goals:

€24,000 - Galahad chapter
The planned section on tools, methods, and copy protections will be expanded into a full extra chapter added to the book.  It will be written by Galahad, a long-time Amiga programmer known for game enhancements and deep technical insight - and it will include screenshots and real examples.

€30,000 - Amiga intro
When the book is ready, an Amiga “game intro” will be released.  The intro is built from an original intro source most sceners will recognize, a classic used in many "game intros".  It will include a greetings scroller with backer names.  It will be added to YouTube & uploaded to the major demoscene repositories.

[Marcio D.]

The two stretch goals mentioned in the prior post have been reached!

The author has now introduced two additional stretch goals.

€35,000 - Cover design by J.O.E.
The cover for Bootblock Rebels will be created by the renowned Amiga scene artist J.O.E.  Known for classic graphics for Scoopex, TRSI, and many legendary cracktros and demos, J.O.E has also returned in recent years creating new graphics for C64 demos.  Professionally, J.O.E works as a visual effects specialist on major movies including Avatar, King Kong, Titanic, Fantastic Four, Apollo 13, X-Men, The Lord of the Rings, and many more.

€37,000 - J.O.E. poster
A poster featuring elements from the cover design will be included with the hardback edition of the book.



Back the campaign:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitman/bootblock-rebels