Customer Reviews

The Art of Electronics

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

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!

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 generally like this book but it takes a great deal of work to really understand what they are talking about. They claim that load lines and small signal models are not necessary but then use elements of both. The book is much easier to understand if you include these concepts. It seems to me that these concepts were actually in the back of their minds when they wrote the book. Trying to visualize the path of operation of a transistor without using the output characteristic curves seems very frustrating. Their explanation of the input impedance of an emitter follower is very confusing unless you already have a very thorough understanding of Q-points and what this actually represents on the characteristic curves. If you use their book as a starting point after having a good understanding of analog electronics engineering, then it is a good book. Likewise, the chapters on digital electronics are good, but only if you already have a good grasp of digital electronics engineering. Not many electrical engineering textbooks explain the operation of a differential ampifier well and this one does not either. They do explain the design of constant current sources well, but it makes much more sense if a set of output characteristic curves are used along with their explanation. Not many textbooks really explain how a computer works as a sequential machine. This one does not either. They simply talk about the different circuits used in a computer, but not how they actually work to create a sequential machine. They give examples of circuits that do not work and I generally liked that idea. Their explanation of feedback and frequency response leaves a great deal of information out. Again, if you already have a solid grasp of these concepts, then these sections are good.

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.

The standard line is to call this book a "great reference". Well yes and no. It is a great reference in that there is tons and tons of practical stuff inside that you will have a hard time finding anywhere else. However, the problem is you will also have a hard time finding it in this book! The index is woefully incomplete; countless times I have gone searching in this book for information on a topic and come up empty handed, only to stumble upon what I was looking for months later, on a page that wasn't referenced in the index. The book is also something of a dichotomy in that it pretends to start from the beginning, with explanations of phasors and Ohm's law and simplistic stuff like that, but then it goes and starts using various circuit symbols without defining them. I swear there are symbols used in that book which aren't defined anywhere, I've checked. Then there's the fact that the book tends to have alot of "cookbook" stuff with little explanation of why a circuit does what it does. One would expect this in an engineering text, but one of the authors is physicist so I expected better. All in all I'd say you should buy the book but only use it in conjunction with a more coherent text.

I fully support this book per my technical background:
1. I had over 2,000 hours of USAF tech schools, from heavy ground communications to computers.
2. As a tech writer, I wrote over 400 H/W and S/W technical manuals over a period of 40 years.
With that said, you now have some measure to gauge the following "need to know" words.

What you need to know about the "Art of Electronics:"
1. It teaches like combined hands-on and classroom theory courses;
2. It's written and presented better than most of the 300 technical books in my home library;
3. It's so lucid, you only need simple math. However, I recommend first year calculus, especially if you intend to enhance your electronics expertise;
4. It covers everything from the purpose and characteristics of simple components to full bore analog and digital designs. Its extensive coverage also includes device data sheets and device-by-device comparison tables.

The "Art of Electronics" is an outstanding book from any perspective.

Enjoy!

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.

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.

Encyclopedic in scope, this is a good reference for many electrical engineering topics, including aspects of both analog and digital design. It has a lot of pictures and examples, and often fills in the gaps of theory to tell how designs are typically made.

Even after getting an electrical engineering degree, I keep a copy of the Art of Electronics on my shelf for quick refreshers on long-forgotten (or never-learned) topics. There are usually comprehensive introductions to general topics followed by between a few paragraphs and a few pages on more specific topics and an example circuit or two.

I find that the text is very well balanced. There is usually just enough information to get the point across: no more, no less. For a thorough theoretical treatment of electronics design, you'll have to look elsewhere, but to just understand common topics, H&H is very good.

On another note, this book hasn't been updated since 1989, and the information on microcomputers and digital logic is reflective of that. This chapter begs for a new edition including FPGAs, VHDL, etc., which just didn't exist in 1989, so don't buy it thinking it will help you in implementing your college digital design project. You may want to buy it, though, when you're trying to figure out why your design that worked in simulation doesn't work in hardware (yes, even digital logic is built from analog components).

This is a great book for anyone who loves electronics.The book has a ton of information on how to design circuits, characteristic of components,how circuit's act,how to build them,don't be surprise when you can take advantage of the wealth of information to build your own radio.I would recommend this book to any one who has a background in electronics,but not to anyone who don't have any knowledge of electronic's.This book by far has to much information for the average person to handle.I suggest to anyone who want's to get started in electronics,go to class first.Get acquainted with electronic test equipment,do ton's of problems associated with ohm's law,know how to experiment.Then buy this book.But to the new person,don't buy this book to get started in electronic,do class first,then buy the book.