Commodore 64 Exposed might sound like something from the tabloid press, but really it's a C64 equivalent of Vic Revealed (and an alternative to the forthcoming follow-up C64 Revealed from Nick Hampshire). This book is aimed at the programmer who wishes to progress beyond simple programs, or perhaps for the experienced programmer from another machine who wishes to become quickly acquainted with the C64.

So this one and Using The C64 are very alike in subject matter; but they differ greatly in presentation.

Bruce Bayley moves along at a fast pace, covering binary and hexadecimal by the end of Chapter One and including machine code routines by Chapter Three. Sound is covered in Chapter Four and again machine-code is used to show special effects.

Machine code is not introduced as a separate topic until Chapter Six - when the going gets a little heavy. Thankfully, there are always many examples (which usually include a Basic loader and assembly source code); I particularly liked the program which displayed sixteen sprites at once on the screen.

The last Chapter looks at peripherals like paddles, joysticks, disks and printers; and the whole thing is rounded off with some useful technical appendices.

Taken by itself this is a very good aid for anyone who would find the Programmer's Reference Guide a little daunting and needs a little assistance. The use of machine code to show off the C64's capabilities is particularly noteworthy. Overall, a good alternative to the Programmer's Reference Guide.