The Art of Electronics (Student Manual with Exercises)

In my opinion this is the single best electronics book on the market. However, it is not for beginners. You should work through something like Hands-On Electronics or Ahmed and Spreadbury's textbook first. The Art of Electronics is a second course in electronics for people who already know some basic circuit design but want to get much wider experience. It is strong on fully specified, buildable circuits and practical advice. The authors use a minimum of mathematics because - as working designers - they realize there's no point in doing high-precision calculations with low-precision numbers.

I recommend this book to everyone I know interested in electronics regardless of their knowledge and skill level. This book is full of useful circuits that are simple and work great. Just the other day I needed an absolute value circuit and a peak value circuit, I looked in the index, and there they were. If you know absolutely nothing at all about electronics this book might move a little fast for you, but if you like to learn, and like to think, and want a fantastic electronics reference book, this is the book. I first learned of this book when I took an electronics class; the instructor had written his own book, which we had to buy, but he told us this book was less expensive and better! If you like electronics then buy this book and you will probably use it almost daily. I read some of the criticisms on this book and some said that the book didn't go into enough detail on its circuits - I disagree; the circuits are all explained well but the explanations are short and to the point to enable the authors to include more circuits in the book (it's already as big as most phone books). If you don't understand a circuit all you need to do is go back and read the chapters on resistors, diodes, capacitors, transistors. etc., and then look at the circuit again. Everyone I know that deals with electronics from the basic hobbyist to the top analog engineer has a (worn out) copy of this book on their shelf.

From the early 1980s, I've read both the first and second editions over 3 times and the heuristics they use remain second to none, years later. This is THE book of Electronics for non-engineers. With technology moving at a logarithmic phase, its a tribute to their presentation that AoE continues to be sold without a recent update and their keen circuit sense shows that many of the technologies they focused on remain available today. Since the second edition cheap computer circuit simulators, I use Electronics Workbench but many are available, can help clarify areas were H & H may leap and bound when discussing circuits [ explanations can still be found by cross references the book via the index.] Design software makes breadboarding less necessary for testing concepts. Choice of software depends on cost and the sophistication of your design. This book is not for the casual tinkerer, kit assembler, or an extended version of '1001 electronic circuits.' It turns astute readers into circuit designers, not everyone is cut out for that field. Its been a while since I read Steve Ciarcia in Byte, thought of Heathkit, saw an issue of Radio or Popular Electronics, but DigiKey remains a key supplier, Radio Shack remains the 'quick fix' and H & H lives on. I rarely have time to build circuits on custom PC boards these days, but AoE has given me a cognitive lifetime warranty on all devices I've opened that screwed tightly shut had a sticker that said " ... VOID IF REMOVED." For the next edition, could authors PLEASE beg the publishers to print the book on acid free paper? My copy is terribly jaundiced.

Excellent resource for all engineers/technicians who need quick solutions to common (and not-so-common) problems. The book is more an electronics "cookbook" than a textbook, in that the authors assume the reader is familiar with basic theory but might need help in identifying the best solution to a particular problem. It is not an "introduction to electronics" but, I would strongly recommend it to beginners who wish to augment a standard textbook or course with some good practical knowledge. The authors are very effective in reducing even some of the most complex aspects of electronics into easy-to-understand terms. This book is like having a good, experienced electrical engineer available 24 hours a day!

I'm an undergraduate student in physics and electronic engineering. Although it hasn't been used as a textbook in my engineering course, it was used as the textbook for both second and third year electronics courses in my physics course. At any rate, it is regarded as the "Bible" of reference texts. Be aware that it is in reality a reference - although it can be used to learn electronics, there are other books that are probably more appropriate. However, for anyone between decent electronics enthusiast and professional electronic engineer, this is an indispensable tool, and I recommend it to anyone who considers themselves in this category. It has proved its worth over and over again (I purchased my copy in 1992, and despite its 10 year age, it is still highly relevant and useful). I anticipate the next version (should there be one) with great eagerness. This is one book that I couldn't be apathetic about reviewing. BUY IT!