IO decided to do my Final Speech (for Public Speeking) on early gaming history. It will be a breif overview of the arcade era, early home consoles, gaming crash and beinging of the NES (all clumped together).

 I was wondering if anyone knew of some good sources. I'm using the book "Game Over" and probably the NPD if they have sales back that far. Any other good sources to check out, or specifically, where to look. Thanks.

As silly as it looks and sounds, The Ultimate History of Video Games is a very good read and actually accurate (unlike some video game history books).

WIKIPEDIA!!

Wikipedia is your best friend :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_games

 wiki knows all....obey its teachings

Yeah, I'd go with Wikipedia as well.

Wikipedia isn't a credible source by any means. The one Twesterm posted might work.

EDIT: Anyone know if you could find the book at a library? 

100% correct. For general knowledge or good started points, the Wiki is your friend and a great place to start. For any kind of research where you need any type of credible information, the Wiki is the worst place you can go.

And don't know if that's a book most library's would consider carrying. Your best bet is Half Price Books if there are any near you, if not, Amazon.

-edit-
And just in case you don't get it, why the Wiki is bad for research: anybody can edit it.  I'm sure everyone here considers themselves knowledgable about sells and video games in general.  I'm sure of you felt so inclined you would even feel comfortable enough to even update a wiki.

Now let me ask you this: how many times have you been wrong on any subject you're comfortable enough to update a Wiki?  Even information on Wiki's can be referenced by rumors that later were proved to be false but that rumor never gets changed when it's proved false.  

It's just too easy to get wrong information on the Wiki without even considering the people that modify it just to be wrong.