Looks like a rare one. Do you actually have a copy of it?

Wonder if it was Ted Dabney: https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/ted-dabney/Content?oid=18892490

(Confirmed by the thread below — yes!)

Thin lead here, but one pinsider in this thread posted that he wanted a reprint that was planned 8 years ago.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/what-to-name-a-pinball-repair-book-reprint-1#post-531463

It's interesting the author used an illustration of a 1971 machine on the cover. I think it's a Lawman with 2" flippers???

Yes, to my eyes that illustration definitely has the playfield layout of Gottlieb's Lawman. And the score motor, relay bank, front door, drop target bank, and bonus stepper are all based on (but not exact representations of) the Gottlieb versions of these components. So that was likely the machine that the artist used as a reference.

I agree the flippers look weirdly small, but I think that is just the way the artist drew them. Overall, I think it's a really nice illustration. It reminds me of the "visible pinball machine" that was made by the Pacific Pinball Museum folks.

Many thanks to MarkG for bringing this rare book to our attention!

- TimMe

How in the world did you ever find this book?

I know he's kicking himself now for not buying it when he first found it.

I'm no lawyer, but because this was printed/copyrighted prior to 1978 when copyright laws changed, it appears as though this book could be reprinted (legally) for sharing among our EM community. If it poses a problem, we can always donate any proceeds to Project Pinball. I'd pay to have a reprinted copy for reference and enjoyment reading. If we have a hybrid lawyer/pinball enthusiast among us, chime in.

https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.html

Hey, I was involved in the earlier thread, so I figured I would drop in here and add a bit of information

Marty Goldberg works with me at the Midwest Gaming Classic and we're still friends. A number of people from this thread reached out, so I ended up contacting him yesterday. He is still hoping to publish a reprint, he's been a bit delayed, partly because Ted Dabney, who yes - this was written by the co-founder of Atari - passed away in 2018, partly because there wasn't a ton of interest originally, and partially because he doesn't have an easily reprintable version of the book. He is still hoping to do it.

Marty is one of the foremost historians on Atari, and published a book about Atari a few years ago. It's really good:

https://www.amazon.com/Atari-Inc-Business-Curt-Vendel/dp/0985597402

Marty became friends with Dabney, so the project was done with the total blessing of him. If you'd like a copy of this, probably the most important thing to do is express interest in actually getting a copy so that it makes it worth the while.

If everyone agrees that it isn't worth cleaning up and instead should just be photocopied, I'm sure Marty could do that too - although knowing him, that's not his style

I would have bought it when it originally came out, if I had heard about it. Can Marty tell us anything about where/how it was originally publicized? Was it advertised in any trade magazines?

Put me down for a reprint. I'm a completist.
.................David Marston

So did Joel Miller also write that 1976 on video game repair which had a similar publishing situation? The spine says "Miller" and that name is nowhere else in the book; publisher did not claim copyright nor provide much detail. Unlike the Dabney book, it was publicized and advertised in the trade magazines, though.
.................David Marston