The Art of Electronics

A brilliant and lucid text that supplies enough theory over a wide range of topics, but also manages at the same time to emphasise the practical application of devices and circuit ideas. Worked examples and useful data support this enabling book.

This is the best book on basic electronics out there. I have quite a few and wish I found this one sooner. It dosent cover everything but it covers enough to be usefull as a good desk referance and general idea genarator.

I pity the students who have to actually learn elecronics from this textbook. The text "assumes you have no prior knowledge of electronics" while "trying to keep the math to a minimum". Although the theory behind this is to create an intuitive understanding of circuit behavior, in practice it fails abyssmally if you are a beginner with little to no understanding of electronics. Here is an overview of the first chapter:

-Omh's law is introduced in the second section, but the first example is not until the third section (voltage dividors). At this point the author expects you to be able to find the voltage and current in any part of any circuit, however complicated, consisting of batteries and resistors. Many readers at this point will not even understand that voltage is measured "across" two points whereas current is measured "through" two points.

-The next section (section 4 if you are keeping track) explains voltage and current sources. Although the author does not give any examples of current sources, he is gracious enough to mention that a battery is a voltage source (most readers can figure this out on their own since batteries are classified by their voltages).

-Section five (this is still the first chapter) is on Thevenin's theorem. A short list of formulas is followed by an example which is not worked out along with its resultant diagram. If you can understand Thevenin's theorem from this section then you really don't belong in an introductory electronics course. If you are like most students, your professor would likely have assigned problems of their own creation that you have no clue how to complete (did I mention that this textbook has almost no exercises to work?).

-The rest of the chapter deals with topics such as Zener diodes, signal waveforms, differentiator circuits, and rectifiers. This is far too advanced for the student who barely understands Kirchoff's Laws (which are given a few paragraphs on page 3).

The problem with this book is that the author cannot bring himself down to a level where neophytes can grasp what he is trying to explain. The lack of examples and exercises reminds the reader of a professor who simply likes to hear himself talk and doesn't care that his students are lost and confused. (This reminds me of another book, "Introduction to Electrodynamics" by Griffiths, which I despise for the same reason).

My electronics professor took one look at this book (which was required for my course) and has never picked it up again. He highly recommended "Circuits, Devices, and Systems" by Smith and Dorf.

I give this book two stars because, as a reference book for an experienced electrical engineer, it is filled with very good information, diagrams, and charts. As a textbook I could not dislike it more.

Item price and delivery were excellent.

This is an impressive and detailed book 1100 pages of electronics circuits, diagram, and tips. If you started at the beginning and worked your way through chapter by chapter it would be similar to taking a complete course on electronics. It has 15 chapters plus a large appendix.

For example the early chapters are basic introductions that quickly graduate to transistors and circuits progressing through to switches and linear circuits. By chapter 5 they proceed to filters then on to power supplies and regulators, and special amplifiers and shielding. Then they make a transition to digital circuits midway through the book, then again using that as a basis to make the next step to microcomputers by chapter 10. That continues to chapter 13 where the subject turns to RF and microwaves. The book ends with examples of measurement. So all in all it is a step by step review from simple voltage sources through computers to RF with many examples. It is all easy to read and quite clear. The book is not designed for a novice but probably better someone in the field and needs a refresher or one excellent reference source.

Having graduated EE more than a few years ago I need a quick reference in the office where I can refresh my memory or design something new, or see what if any new developments are available.

To make a long story short, as a user I do use the book but as a reference. When you first get the book do a quick read to get a general understanding and then go back to the book as required. The book is an excellent addition to any technical reference library. It is worth the cost, no brainer.

Four or five stars.

Industrial user.