Customer Reviews

American Electricians' Handbook

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Another motley McGraw-Hill product. First copyrighted in 1913. The author appears to have died prior to 1976, and the book has been maintained by hired help. Don't try to use this as a textbook; treat it as a reference only. You never really know whether some item is up to date or 50 or 80 years old. Examples: There is a lot of treatment of two-phase (yup, 90 degrees) power, including at 25 hertz, and of multi-kilovolt series incandescent streetlighting, plus knob and tube wiring. Also, it is stated that the highest radio frequency in use is 30 megahertz, whereas in reality we're up to 1,000 or 2,000 times that just now. This book is a curiousity; charming if you have the cash, but if you don't, maybe you should be getting something more coherent.

I would NOT recommend this book to any electrician, engineer, or architect. It is extremely difficult to comprehend. Gaining any practical information from this book is futile. I have had the twelfth edition over ten years. I used it to study for the electricians exam. I hated it then. Since that time, I have found it to be a very poor reference book. The thirteenth edition is no better. I understand why some electrician training schools might use this book - it is very comprehensive. It would make a good reference for a classroom lesson plan, but not a direct teaching tool. If you want to learn the material in this book, get the National Electric Code Handbook (and related materials published by the NFPA) and appropriate textbooks. FYI - I am a licensed electrician and a registered professional engineer.

I originally purchased this book on the recommendation of another electician. Many electrician training schools use this same book to teach their students. I found it to be easy to comprehend, and to be a wealth of information that has helped me enormously in my work, and to prepare for Electrician's exams. I would recommend this to any electrician (Apprentice, Journeyman, etc. I have used and abused mine so much, that it's time for me to purchase another copy - that's how useful a tool it is.

It is interesting to note that many of the reviewers have bashed this because they were attempting to use this as a study guide for a particular State's Electrician Exam. This book is not intended to be a Code Reference/Guide and is more of a "how it works" reference. As noted there are much better study guides out there for testing purposes. I highly recommend Stallcups Journeyman's workbook or the Master Electrician's workbook if you are wanting to pass the exam. I have taught Journeyman prep classes and used Stallcups and the appropriate edition of the NEC exclusively. Mike Holt's books are also good for exam preparation.

As for the using the index it should be clear after only a cursory examination that it is indexed by section and not by page. This does make it a bit more tedious to look up a particular subject but it is certainly not impossible or unusable.

As for some of the archaic information included- there are still two phase systems in existence, there are houses with knob & tube wiring, we still see 3 phase delta high leg systems, manual motor starters (the old "one arm bandits"), and so on. Just because these are not part of modern wiring methods/systems does not mean that they have ceased to exist altogether.

I have found this to be a great reference and have used it many times to resolve questions that I could find little or no information for anywhere else. It is not an exhaustive reference on any single subject but it is a great reference to give you an overview.

One other observation- Amazon apparently ties the reviews to the book title and not the edition. The reviews here are for previous editions and do not specifically address the 15th edition.

As for my background- I have been a master electrican for over 15 years, am a certified electrical inspector, certified instrument technician, and NETA certified testing technician.

W A R N I N G: This book is not for the weekend repairman!!!

This is a very intense book for the professionals or for someone who would like to further their knowledge. This truely might be the last book an electrican will ever buy. A must for your library!

This is an excellent, if dense read that bridges the gap between the science of electricity, and the practical matter of an Electrician's work. It will not fully explain the science of the topic, and it will certainly not teach you how to wire a house. It is a very good book if your question runs along the lines of "Why does it work that way?" Its treatment of Ohm's law and other fundamentals is particularly useful. That said, the index is a nightmare, the book is not organized by page number, and it contains some apocrypha.

I have been an electrician for just over two years now (and I wrote this using my wife's login, because I'm too lazy to relog)

I'll let you know after I get the book, but I just wanted to comment on what I have read in these reviews so far. I have owned the Ninth Edition for over 10 years. My background....well, lets just say I have some experience in the field. I was really shocked to see negative reviews for this book. My honest opinion, is that the bad reviews came from people who do not want to improve their craft. They want to get licensed and make money the fast way. PERIOD!! I hope that this person never has to work on your equipment, or home.
As the one gentleman noted, there are old systems everywhere, especially in the manufacturing and automotive industries. So it is a very helpful reference, and is the reason I still have the ninth edition, and intend on keeping it until I retire.

Every book that I have ever bought for my trade has useful information in it, and the great thing about the """""HANDBOOK""""" is that it has a WIDE variety of information. Knowledge is the key to being better at your profession, and this book has plenty of it. To be honest, since this handbook has such a wide variety of information to cost ratio it is a win win situation. I have spent hundreds of dollars for books on a specific topic, that didn't even cover the information I wanted it to.

Let you know if I am putting my foot in my mouth, but I can't imagine this book getting that bad since the Ninth Edition.

This hand book is very useful in looking up electrical problems that may come across one's way. It has certainly been a great help to me,so I recommend that every electrician and apprentice purchase this handbook.

This is probably one of the best electrical books in my library. Unlike other books I have, this one in particular covers a lot in any topic chapter after chapter. My only problem though, the size of the letters. Other than that, I have to say, you've earned 5*s from me.

The American Electricians Handbook, aka. Electricians Bible is a good reference book to own however the NEC Handbook for me is used more. The American Electricians handbook does cover good topics. Examples would be UPS Systems and commonly used raceways, enclosures, boxes & devices.
If an electrician had questions pertaining to a particular subject it is really good. For everyday referencing it's not.