Components Books

General, Organic and Biological Chemistry: Structures of Life with Student Access Kit for MasteringGOBChemistry(TM) (MasteringChemistry Series)


It took only four days to receive my book in a perfect condition. I am very happy for that.

General, Organic and Biological Chemistry: Structures of Life with Student Access Kit for MasteringGOBChemistry(TM) (MasteringChemistry Series)This book came in good shape. It also came with a workbook and new student access kit. The book was a great price and came shortly after I ordered it.

I'm using this text for a college course. The pictures are really vivid, have plenty of information. There are plenty of examples. There are answers to the oddly numbered questions, but the even numbered questions (which my professor is assigning) do not have solutions. As a result it is difficult to determine whether or not one is on the right track! Further, the wording on some of the questions is confusing, making it difficult to determine what the given is, and how to find the correct conversions.
Not a bad book, but I'd like to see more.

I am taking Chemistry over summer, so I have alot of material to sort through, this book makes it easy to do that. It also explains things simply but it very thorough.

Item as describe, However, had some problems with the delivery . It took me three weeks to get my books( I was qualified for 2 days shipping)

Mr. Predko has compiled hundreds of pages of useful information. After reading it, I am more comfortable defining my MCU needs. In my opinion this book was well worth the price and wait! I especially liked the sections on the ATMEL "AVR" and MOTOROLA families.

Read this book to find out how microcontrollers work and the kinds of things you can do with them. If you're getting ready to start a project and don't know which chip to use, this book will help you decide. It even has example applications for each chip. It's an exhaustive reference that's readable and well-researched, as usual for Myke.

I bought this book based on my satisfaction with Myke's other microprocessor books. This book is clearly worth the price, especially with the CD-ROM full of resources, but it gets a little tiring having to wade through Myke's opinions about the "weirdness" of a particular architecture, when you are just looking for facts. Next time Myke, leave out the opinions!

I just received the book today thinking it was your basic reprinting of microcontroller data sheets with some comments about how the features really work. I wanted a book that gave me a quick overview of the controllers. However, Mike give us software guys a look at the hardware, shows us to some extent how to mock up boards for ourselves for pre-coding (while waiting for the real boards to show up). This is a really neat book. No one in my office will be allowed to borrow it, it is THAT valuable to have all the time. Excellent work Myke. -T-

A must have for beginners who need complete and useful information without a lot of technical overkill. The most Popular microcontrollers are covered and after turning just a few pages you will want to start programming. The "Robotic Crowd" will also love it!

This book supplies explanation clear and exhausting to many problems that every encounter day in the planning of transformers even if lacks many arguments that I'de like to me to deepen, but is a profit point of departure for me.

I wish I had this book many years ago....Since it answers many design problems I have already figured out the hard way, through lots of grind and sweat... At this time I don't really need the book, but intrigued how the Colonel approaches magnetics problems in the same manner I approach them...
The book is written in a clear, no-nonsense straight to the point approach. The way all technical textbooks "should" be written.... Although a solid theoretical understanding is paramount in magnetics, there is no need to re-invent the wheel everytime you approach magnetics, the Colonel shows this, unlike books that start at Maxwell's equations to solve every problem is just an academic excercise to satisfy one's ego...
I did work at JPL briefly and wish I had the oppurtunity to sit down and talk to the Colonel...
I highly recommend this book... Other books to accompany this text would be by Reuben Lee "Electronic Transformers and Circuits" 2nd edition as well as the "Classic" "Magnetic Circuits and Transformers" by M.I.T (Hardcover 1958)

I would highly recommend the book. I was able to fairly quickly design a resonant inductor for a 500 watt ballast. The calculations agreed with the test test data very well.

Wether you are an engineer, technician, or just an interested layman, this book will take you from the grass roots understanding of basic magnetics all the way through to some fairly advanced topics. Among magnetics engineers, I have found it to be one of THE BEST for properly setting up foundational knowledge and theory. Too many engineers have weak or incomplete foundations and quickly hit a plateau where they can't go further until they go back and really understand the basics. If you buy one book, buy this one. The other two books I would recommend of this caliber are no longer in print.

This is probably the best book on transformer design that I've found. It's geared towards the engineer who actually wants to design a real working transformer. The text is comprehensive, and the discussions are inteligent and easy to follow. There are tons of real word examples. As I was reading this book, there were many times when the lights went on in my head, and subjects that where previously a mystery, became crystal clear. There are so many poorly written books out there on this subject that it is a real pleasure to come across a book so well written.

Great UML reference.

If you are in software development, and get a stack of UML diagrams handed to you and have any doubt about how to interpret their content, this book is for you.

If you are a software developer or designer and need to diagram UML and get it right the first time, this book is for you.

It is quite a bit more comprehensive than the other UML books by O'Reilly and others, and it WILL fit in your pocket with room to spare.

As a system architect I find this reference guide pretty useful in case I need to quickly refresh my memory on how some UML notation goes again. Small pocket size is handy and travels easily in the laptop case, for example. Have this essential guide always at your hand, especially when learning UML or using the notation for the first time in real software engineering cases.

Like O'Reilly's other Pocket Reference books, this book is designed as a quick reference with an ultimate goal of making the reader as productive as possible. It is really useful for people with knowledge of UML but need a quick refresher.

I found it to not only be a very quick read, but a good reference on UML syntax and usage. The book is divided up into sections, which cover the various UML diagrams you might encounter. The brief discussion in each section will quickly bring the reader up to speed.

Again, if you are already familiar with UML and need a sort of quick reference book, then I would recommend this as an addition to your library. If you are looking for a more thorough UML explanation or are not as comfortable with it as you would like to be, I would recommend a more involved book, like O'Reilly's Learning UML.

This is a great little guide to keep on hand as you gain experience with UML. The author targets the experienced UML person who knows there is a way to do something but is unsure of the syntax. By no means would you buy this book to learn UML from the ground up. But once you work your way through a book such as Learning XML by Sinan Si Alhir, you would benefit from a short guide to point you in the right direction when stumped.

Conclusion
If you're going to be UML on a regular basis and you've worked through the basics, I recommend this book as a very good index to everything in the UML diagram world.

I agree with the reviews that praised this book a couple of years ago. It is just as good as other O'Reilly quick reference books, but the standard has changed to UML 2.0 and you might want to consider that strongly when you make a purchase. UML 2.0 is not covered in this book.

The Author of this book gives indepth knowledge of Verilog and provides a very good start to the beginner. Sticks to almost single development environment which is widely used. I am still in process of reading this book.

I've been a fan or Mr. Cavanagh books beginning with his book "Digital Computer Arithmetic". Digital Computer Arithmetic: Design and Implementation (Computer Science) which I applied to an IC design I was working on (Philips 8051 derivative circa 1990). Now, I've found that I need to update my design skills and have a need to learn and apply the Verilog HDL language to apply to SDR radio design project ideas. This book fits that need. The book is not intended to be a tutorial on logic design. It is intended to be a tutorial on the complete Verilog language together with wide variety of design examples. The book begins with an overview of the Verilog language structure, language elements, and modeling concepts. Next the Verilog language elements, expressions, are covered followed by in-depth discussions of gate-level, dataflow, and behavioral, structural modeling. User-defined primitives, tasks, and functions are given apt attention. The book closes with addition design examples (a simple RISC CPU), and event queues. Note that the author uses the SILOS simulator for all examples. I found this to be an issue due to the cost of SILOS. However, a after a little research ending up with a quick trip to Wikipedia uncovered a nice low-cost Verilog design environment called LogicSim by Zeemz ([...]). Although I don't endorse any particular product, I've had no issues with LogicSim working my way thorough various portions of this book. I've also found that having a FPGA design kit (in my case a Xilinx Spartin-3 kit) is quite useful to apply the concepts. Your mileage may vary.

Note that if you are new to Verilog (but not to programming in general) the book is quite easy to read. Note that in order to fully grasp Verilog, in my opinion, you need to read the entire text (all 770+ pages) and work the examples. The explanation of Verilog is not condensed with follow-on project. The approach is to get you started with simple examples of what is presented in latter chapters. The various parts of Verilog are then covered in more depth. Some may not like this approach opting, instead, for a book that has complete projects on a specific kit (Xilinx Spartan 3, etc.). This is not the book for those individuals. There are plenty of books on Verilog. This book happens to fit my need to cover Verilog with, what I would describe, and "architectural twist". Mr. Cavanagh's other book complements this book.

The contents of the book are as follows:

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Overview
Chapter 3 Language Elements
Chapter 4 Expressions
Chapter 5 Gate-Level Modeling
Chapter 6 User-Defined Primitives
Chapter 7 Dataflow Modeling
Chapter 8 Behavioral Modeling
Chapter 9 Structural Modeling
Chapter 10 Tasks and Functions
Chapter 11 Additional Design Examples
Appendix A Event Queue
Appendix B Verilog Project Procedure
Appendix C Answers to Select Problems

Cavanagh is an author you want to get on your bookshelf. Whatever he writes you want to have the material in arm's reach. This author has a trademark method of building concepts on a firm foundation and then moving forward to the advanced level without introducing learning blips in the process. Inside you will find detailed examples and step-by-step designs that provide a working template upon which designers can generate their own project. The explicit treatment of the Verilog HDL in this book makes this a strong resource for both the new learner of the language as well as a reference book for the advanced designer. An indispensable resource, mark this one up and keep it on your bookshelf to be used again and again.

I bought this book hoping to learn Verilog. I had a hot project to fixup for an engineer who left my department and needed to learn the language quickly. This book was not the best choice.

It is true that there is much material in the book and the author is very rigorous about providing test code for each example, but it is a book for people who need cook books. The book is long and repetitious. About one-third of the way through, I lost interest, but did manage to plod my way through most of the remaining sections.

There is not an organized tutorial explaining the syntax and there is no reference section. Instead material is spread throughout the book. I believe there is fundamental information missing such as how does the compiler interpret the language; e.g., how do the statements relate to flip-flops in hardware. You almost have to know other languages to understand.

Clearly one of the best books written on Verilog HDL. It covers the complete Verilog language in detail, including language elements and expressions. Chapters include comprehensive coverage of built-in primitives, user-defined primitives, dataflow modeling, behavioral modeling, and structural modeling, all with numerous examples that illustrate the design principles of each modeling method. There are excellent examples on the Hamming code, the Booth algorithm, and a pipelined RISC processor, all completely designed using Verilog.

The Verilog simulator used in the book is the SILOS simulation environment from Silvaco Intenational. Design examples in the book include the design module, the test bench module, the outputs, and the waveforms. The design topics also include the associated theory.

No book will tell you how to design your particular Verilog project; however, using the principles and practices outlined in this book and your own innate ability you can accomplish anything. An excellent book for both academia and industry.

Dr. Desurvire has an uncanny ability to write coherently on many topics, and few individuals world-wide could effectively tackle such a broad array of subjects.

The Survival Guide covers an impressive breadth and depth in global telecommunications. The book is written such that any reader will learn a tremendous amount, ranging from the beginner to the expert. The author's perspective is also invaluable, drawing on his background at Bell Labs and Alcatel.

I would certainly recommend this book to ANYONE wishing to gain important knowledge in this area.

As an engineer and a researcher working in the field of fiber optic transmission systems I found the Survival Guide in Global Telecom by E. Desurvire to be an extremely useful and handy book. The field of Telecom is so vast that it is practically impossible to be a specialist in all the related areas, but there is almost a daily need to find information about scientific and engineering principles, and technology in the related fields. From that perspective the Survival Guide is an excellent reference book: it covers all the important areas, the explanations are easy to follow and understand and it provides enough material to serve as a basis for more detailed search. I keep this book ready on my desk.

As a teacher I've made heavy use of Desurvire's earlier 'Erbium-doped Fiber Amplifiers', which to a large extent closed the book on a momentous research area that the author himself had helped open as a young man. That book, so far as I could tell, anyway, was not of human origin.

The Survival Guide in Global Telecommunications is of decidedly human origin. But if anything it is more courageous, more ambitious, and in certain ways perhaps more compendious, than the classic amplifier book. The Survival Guide isn't a bible; it's a streamlined summary of a set of technologies and ideas comprising truly vast intellectual sweep, ranging from components to encryption and architecture. It can be understood quickly. And rarer still for a book with its ambitions, its explanations are, where I've been in a position to judge, meticulous.

I can think of few who have the courage to undertake a work of this sort in earnest. I can think of none who would have produced such a clear and accurate work of such vast sweep.

Although i saw this and companion Guide at publication in 2004, it was only this spring that i had occasion to use it as a resource in teaching a grad course on 'optical communication systems' at UC Berkeley. In preparing lectures involving Shannon limit, m-ary modulation formats, error-correcting codes and other topics not really 'up my alley', i was able to get the essence and good illustrations in short order. As my grandaughter would say, the explanations did not suffer from TMI (too much information) but just enough.

ipk

As perfectly emphasized by the title, Telecom are today Global. Operators are now business-driven rather technology-driven. This means that to work in the field of telecommunication we must be able to understand multiple and different technologies ranging from long haul to access and from wireline to wireless. Because it covers all of these aspects in a very clever and concise manner the books of Desurvire are the perfect companion for today's telecom engineers. My background being in long-haul optical transport I was particularly interested in Chapter 3.3 and Chapter 4, which describe, respectively, IP protocol and Wireless technologies. Desurvire's books are not leaving my office anytime soon.

This is a good book for CMOS Introduction. Easy to follow and not so thick. CMOS Digital Integrated Circuits Analysis & Design

This book introduces CMOS digital IC at a introductory graduate level; good reference for Electrical Engineers in the memory business.

This is my favorite microelectronics textbook. (Out of the 5 or six that I've read.) It is very simple and straightforward material. When I need a microelectronics reference, this is the first book I look at.
The one improvement I would like to see is a better chapter written about SPICE modeling.

No other book gives a more effective treatment of the subject. A thorough explanation of the basics followed by a stepwise approach towards advanced topics. Thanks Kang and Leblebici for coming up with such a great book.

I own the book... in fact, I took the class Leblebici wrote the book for! Leblebici is a very good teacher and the book is a must for all EE students studying VLSI design. It teaches concepts well without wordy, hard to understand passages. The useless "paragraphs of eqations" found in other engineering books are replaced with meaningful examples.

I want a copy of this reviewer, addressing modes, editor and compiler by Albert Paul Malvino

I read this book back in 80's while doing my bachelor in electronics engineering.
This book gave me a solid understanding of the heart and sole of a computer.
Later I used this book for my lectures at various levels. A must have book for every one who wants a real foundation in computer science career.

In general the approach of this book is definitely a good one for a beginner as well as a student well versed on the subject.
The material covered in this book does require one to put the "full" effort forward, but with great effect. The only negative
part of the book is that the SAP-2 model is not done correctly. Other then this, the book is great for learning digital logic.

I'm not sure if this is a later edition of the book I used or not 20 years ago, because it was just titled Digital Electronics back them. But if it is, and it's as good as the original edition, it was probably the best introduction to the subject I'd ever read. Clear and concise explanations of basic principles and digital circuit components made this a valuable reference and study book for me. In fact, as a result of reading this book on my own, I was able to test out of the introductory digital circuits class at my college and get into the second semester class. The book was a standard textbook for years at the colleges near my home, and it has taught thousands of electronic hobbyists, technicians, and engineers over the last 20 years this important field of electronics. Truly a great classic by an outstanding teacher.

This is hands-down the best introduction to the principles of digital electronics that I have ever read. With clear, concise explanations, I have used it as a self-teaching aid when I was first learning about digital logic as well as a source of material for my classes. The basic educational model is the example/solution and there is a self-testing review and problems at the end of each chapter. Solutions to the odd problems are included in an appendix.
While the hardware used in the exercises is very dated, that does not detract from the main point of the book, which is to teach the principles of digital logic. I still use it as a major reference when I teach those principles in an upper level course in computer structure.

This wonderful astronomy course was bought brand new from Amazon as a gift, but when the recipient and I received it from Amazon, the shrinkwrap was torn and retaped and the Student Access Kit (which includes the key for online learning resources) was missing. Check your book carefully.

I received the book I ordered faster than I had expected and it was brand new.
I couldn't be happier.
Would do business with this seller without any hesitation.

It's rather interesting to read, although it's a bit challenging too since I'm very unfamiliar with Astronomy. The best part of it is mentioning the uncertainties of the universe, and it's very up to date, making it exciting and intriguing.

I love this book! I don't even read text books very often, but this one is one of the most fun text books I've ever read--the fourth edition of "The Essential Cosmic Perspective." Perhaps I say this because I like Astronomy. I've never taken the course before, so this is really the only college text book in this subject I've looked at. Still, everything in here is interesting.

It has been updated with the most recent expansions with two notable points. It contains the most recent alterations of language by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Did you know that Pluto isn't a planet? It's actually a comet! In August of 2006, the IAU changed the definition of planet to account for the differences of the planet Pluto, an object whose composition recently discovered is essentially the same as a comet from the belt of comets just outside of the Solar system: called "the Kuiper belt (pronounced like "viper," but with a K. In 2006, the IAU changed the designation of Pluto to a new category of Solar body: the dwarf planet.

Dwarf planets are not planets, as the definition of a planet now has a finer meaning, changed by the IAU. Planet designations are based on composition and size: the inner four planets--Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars--are referred to as "terrestrial planets," because their compositions are made up mostly of metal and rock, they're all about the same size, and they have two moons or less. Asteroids also have the composition of rock and metal, and so the belt of asteroids lying just outside of Mars gives an interesting connotation about our system which I will explain soon. Then, the four outer planets--Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune--are called "Jovian planets," meaning "Jupiter-like," because their compositions are mostly gaseous, and because of their sizes: "gas giants." These Jovian, gas giants are several times the mass and diameter of the terrestrial planets, and so their sizes make them considerable to the system. What sets these solar bodies apart the most is THE WAY THEY WERE FORMED which accounts for their composition differences, and therefore the asteroid belt is the boundary line between the inner-terrestrial and outer-Jovian planets of the Solar system.

Every Solar body with an orbit on a somewhat-similar elliptical plane and beyond Neptune is a comet of the Kuiper belt. Although Uranus and Neptune also have essentially a similar gaseous composition as comets like Pluto, the main difference is Pluto has a radius of about 1000 kilometers. Anything that small is considered to be a comet, and, because the comets of the Kuiper belt are usually very small, Pluto resembles them more than a planet, as it is much smaller than even Earth's Moon. Pluto's mass is about 18 percent that of the Moon.

Remember the tenth planet, "Planet X?" Planet X, the tenth planet, was known as "Planet X" because scientists thought that, because it was so small and had the composition of a comet, that these were fundamental differences between comets and planets of the solar system. They felt that, if every newly-discovered comet of the Kuiper belt orbiting the Sun could be called a planet because it revolved around the Sun, our new computerized telescopes would be discovering planets quite frequently; comets, no matter how small they are, would be called "planets," by old definitions. That's why these new definitions are in place now. Pluto has enjoyed the stature of a planet for about 75 years since its discovery, but now that designation is over.

Additionally, the Jovian worlds are known for their multiple moons. Pluto has a moon, but, because its center-of-gravity lies outside of its moon Charon, both Pluto and Charon should actually be referred to as "binary planets," or more correctly "binary dwarf planets" by IAU's new definition--or rather a "binary system of dwarf planets." A planet and a dwarf planet are separate categories of solar bodies and not the same.

Incidentally, speaking of the Moon, the Moon is thought to have been a planet that, at one time, moved around the Sun. Scientists think this because of the size which is roughly the same as Mercury, a terrestrial composition, and it has a similarly substantial amount of gravity. It theoretically took an orbit around the Earth after they collided based on the attractions of their gravity, after which the Moon started orbiting around the Earth. The Moon is also similar to Mercury in that neither of these bodies maintain any atmosphere.

If you hate Al Gore, well--guess what--the same charts used in Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" are in this book: a major subsection of one of the chapters. This may be a point of either hostility or remorse for those Americans who were comforted by the anti-Gore beliefs of "the Flat World Society": apparently, some scientists think Al Gore actually has facts within his determinations. This book also states the reasons for these conclusions and relates them to a runaway greenhouse effect. If anyone needs an explanation of why people should be concerned, this is as pedestrian as it comes.

Although Venus is thought to be Earth's sister planet, there is nothing there to comfort any human. It has clouds of battery acid! Until 2006, no one could even see through its thick atmosphere due to an extreme greenhouse effect, and in the past only a form of radio technology could view the planet only slightly. In 2006, the European Space Agency (ESA) landed an unmanned spacecraft there to take pictures and send back data about the surface. The "Venus Express" lander, a specially-made craft designed to withstand Venus' harsh atmosphere, lasted for only about an hour on the surface, then corroded into uselessness and dissolved from the extremities of the atmosphere there. You see, there is no water or oxygen on Venus: the extreme greenhouse effect would've caused its oceans to evaporate into space. The atmosphere on Venus is so thick, the pressure at its surface translates to the pressure of one mile beneath the surface of one of Earth's oceans. This book refers to Venus' surface as resembling "a traditional view of hell" (144).

More importantly, although Mercury orbits the Sun at half the distance as Venus, Mercury's surface temperatures are substantially lower than Venus'. This sounds counter intuitive, and it is. But, the reason for it is the extreme greenhouse effect on Venus. And so, although Venus is twice as far from the Sun, it is MUCH hotter there than on Mercury! While Mercury's temperature goes back-and-forth between 700 kelvins (K) in the day and 100 K at night, Venus has a constant average temperature of 740 K (880-degrees Fahrenheit) all the time!

All this information is located within this book. The writing all seems very well put. The glossary has all the terms located in the chapter questions sections, so students should have an easy time finding anything. The chapter information, as it is introduced, is labeled nicely in easy-to-read bold upon its introduction, so eyes can quickly move right to the place where to find that information. The index is large and covers anything I would want to know. It has beautiful photos, images, and tables, in color of course. Many of these shots are brand-new images from off-earth, satellite telescopes and unmanned space vehicles. Of course, I have some doubt about the context of a few of the pictures, but there's surely nothing missing that NASA or other space agencies have allowed to be released: the book is up-to-date.

The book comes with interactive things like on-line supplements and a CD-Rom. The CD-Rom contains a program allowing a student to view any known place from any other known place through a telescope: one can look at Earth from the Moon for instance, and receive technical information about it. You can copy the CD-Rom onto another blank CD or put it on a hard drive for free. The book's included on-line supplemental course features are interactive and reiterate the book's material.

I have not opened the envelope containing the on-line password for fear of reducing the sell-back cost at my college--once a student has opened the envelope containing the on-line pass code key, the envelope cannot be sold back, can only be used once. I regret not having used it, because the Pearson, Addison-Wesley website was extremely helpful in one other course in which I used its on-line supplements. I can only imagine how beautiful the on-line astronomical images are. I would steal the images and put them on my computer desktop, or make a screen saver with them. Maybe I'll open it now, anyway, even though I'm nearly through the course.

If you purchase this text book here at Amazon, make sure you also receive the envelope, because it is worth around thirty or forty dollars. Students can buy the code at the web site without the envelope, but know that the envelope is part of the text book and should come with it unless the seller provides product information stating otherwise. I once had someone sell me a text for college algebra on Amazon with a price about thirty dollars less than Amazon's price. When I received the algebra text, it didn't have the envelope with it! The text was also used-but-wrapped-in-plastic, even though that product description stated the book was new! It may have come to me in plastic, but it wasn't new! Because the envelope containing the on-line code was missing, I peered closely at the book itself and confirmed that the book was USED, because of dirty palm prints on the book. I called the seller and sent it back at the seller's cost with the included mail-return sticker. I don't like people selling me something under false pretenses! Make sure the envelope is in the wrapper; otherwise, you're giving away thirty or forty bucks. Make sure also that the CD-Rom is in there, too.

The good: This book is easy to read and understand, assumes very little of the reader other than a general understanding of current science. Explainations are clear and build logically throughout the book. Very little math - any high school math would be enough to understand what little there is in this book. Information is up to date and the book has many good pictures and diagrams to aid in understanding.

The not as good: I would have liked more in depth detail. I know this is somewhat subjective the book still has nearly 500 pages, however the text often only covers 60% of a page. In comparison to the at least two compeating books "Astronomy Today" and "The Universe" have over 700 pages each and more like 90% of a text page coverage just to grossly compare them. Each of these books also are easy to read, have good pictures and diagrams too.

So all in all this book is good and covers the subject well, but if you wish more detail other books may be better choices.

Got this book from the library,
it is amazing.
This book explained the concept of 'negative feedback' better than any other book that I have read to date.

This is an absolute must-have for amplifier designers/tinkerers.

Wish I could afford it.

It was a damned mistake. Do not confuse this garbage with "Analog Integrated Circuit Design" by David Jones, Ken Martin. Anyway, it is not a matter of being an introductory book on electronics, different to what I was looking for... It is just a book not to buy.

Don't be swayed by M. T. "mtartagni"'s review - as he said, it was his mistake - he was obviously looking for something different.

This book is an exceptional intro to electronics but not for the novice. Suggest you start with "Foundation Electronics" by B G Barker (if still in print) if you are just starting out.

Why so good - some of the best engineers I have worked with have one piece of advice - understand electronics at the physics level and you will easily understand any circuit, be able to fault trace quickly and even build your own equipment from scratch. Electronic math is ok but no substitute for knowing what those darned electrons are up to. This book takes you from the physics through to theoretical and practical examples and will get you a long way to becommining an electronics engineer.

If I could give this book 10 stars I would - it's that good. It's the best all-around electronics book for those non-EE people interested in understanding electronics.

Be aware it does not cover the basics like DC or AC circuits. Doesn't cover capacitors or inductors. Nor does it cover diodes or circuit theorems or meters or magnetism. This book assumes you know those basics already.

This book is primarily devoted to the study of solid state amplification - FETs and bipolar junction transistors. It covers both with equal depth and clarity. It does have a short chapter on vacuum tubes just for completeness. The math is straightforward (basic algebra and a bit of calculus) but what makes this book special are the descriptions of what's happening. It's absolutely crystal clear at all times. 11 of the 14 chapters are devoted to amplification and related topics like power supplies. The remaining chapters are on oscillators and digital circuits.

Another aspect that makes it so readable is the layout of the text and diagrams on the page. A nice large font was used and the character spacing is generous. The line diagrams are very clear. All of this combines for a book that's never an eye strain and a joy to read.

There are no end-of-chapter problems. Ordinarily this would be a negative. But the circuits presented are intended to be built and experimented with. This is the only true way to learn the subject. The author has identified all the components you'll need including IC pinouts! It's the only book I've seen to take this approach.

I'd pick this book as the new gold standard over Horowitz and Hill (H&H). The present work covers 70-80% of the analog topics found in H&H but does so with much greater clarity.

If you really want to understand how transistor amplifiers work (among may other devices) this is the book for you. I'm not an electronics engineer and I've read many books that have left me none the wiser. This however is the first book I found where author explains in plain English how stuff works and why. Worth every penny.