The Art of Electronics

I've always been particularly fascinated by electronics, circuits, and the whole realm in general, and I bought this book with the hopes of expanding that interest into a constructive hobby.

I have had basic experience with electronics in the past, and taken classes in Differential Equations, Calc 1-3, Linear Algebra, Physics, even some intro Electrical/Computer Engineering courses (all a long time ago though), but WOWee is this book complicated. It's 1300 pages and EVERY SINGLE PARAGRAPH is filled with mind crushing complexity.

Maybe it's all just above me, but from a complete beginners standpoint, this was far too difficult a first step.

I'll try to forge ahead (the author says don't get discouraged by the complex Math), but I have a feeling I will understand less and less the more I read.

Buy this book, complement it with Tietze & Schenke's book and you got a very respectable library covering semiconductor circuits. The T&S book will give you the solid circuit background on the mathematical modeling of semiconductor devices as circuit building elements and that EE's should need to consider in serious projects. This book does very well on the "intuitiveness" side of subjects but clearly lacks in providing an in-depth calculation basis on the subjects it covers. This might be OK for most uses but if you are working on mission-critical circuitry or on circuitry that must perform in extreme conditions you'll certainly need to use more math that you'll be exposed in this text.

In a nutshell, if you start with this book and then read T&S on the same subject you'll build a very solid base in EE.

It is obvious to some that this book would contain material for the design of electronics but everyone who has any interest in the subject could just as easily learn electronics by giving this a read and performing some of the practice problems. I wish this was my text book in college. The book is a very easy read as the authors keep the material light at first and build on the knowledge gained from earlier chapters. I would recommend to anyone who might be interested in the subject.

Perhaps it is rare to review a book after 20 years of owning the 1st and then the 2nd edition. This is an invaluable book for the practicing engineer or inventor or hobbyist. It eliminates much theoretical background and gets to practical implementation. You will find a wealth of practical tips that you will never find in standard engineering textbooks. This is a reference book that I have used for many years. However I agree with the last reviewer that it is in dire need of an update. Needless to say there are 10+ years of advancing technology some of which would be valuable to included. It is still quite a useful book however. At this point, if you are a perspective buyer you may want to wait for an update.

The Art Of Electronics combines a lot of practical information about electronics that makes it a very useful reference text. I just wish they would update it. A 2007 version would probably get 5 stars.