Customer Reviews

Electric Circuits (7th Edition)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(44)

 

 

REA's problem solvers series starts out with a treatise on why they have written their books. Many of the problems they express with textbooks are evidenced in Electric Circuits by Nilsson, et al. The following problems, that REA states are evident in many textbooks, are evident with this one: "No systematic rules have been developed which students may follow up in a step-by-step manner. . ." the subject matter is written "by a professional who has insight. . .not shared by the students" and "the examples following a topic are too few in number and too simple to enable the student to get a thorough grasp of the principles involved."

While Electric Circuits does a presentable job at being clear, it tends to gloss over important nuances that are not described in the examples. With no answers to exercises available with the book (you can find them on the book's official website with some searching-but even those solutions have multiple errors) and no study guide showing step-by-step solutions to some of the problems, the student is left with trying to figure out the exercises without adequate examples or explanations. This reduces the textbook from being a resource to being a reference that sits in the student's book bag all semester only to be opened to find the assigned problems.

For an individual to read to get an extremely basic explanation of circuit analysis, or for an expert looking to refresh his or her memory, Electric Circuits may be adequate. For a student trying to learn the minutiae of circuit analysis, this book is woefully lacking.

A stinker

The major frustration students mention when derogating
this text is the fact that solutions are not provided. While this is a legitimate complaint against the book there are much larger systemic problems with the text. Even though I had access to all the solutions I found this book to be fairly pathetic.

First the book conceptually sloppy. Aesthetically its nicely laid out and I suspect the average rushed professor pursuing through it when searching for an appropriate text for their class will look at its superficial qualities (pretty pictures, major topics are appropriate ordered and highlighted) and think the book is suitable for their class. I assure you it's not suitable for most students. Secondly the book, which somehow and tragically got a foothold in universities, has enough critical mass and momentum to perpetuate its obsolete and sad existence despite many better contenders. This is a major problem in academia which is so sessile and scared of change that it takes a miracle to usurp an established text, no matter how poor that text actually is. I suppose this is because they are freightened that they will be looked down upon if they dont follow the same established pracitces as other universities they wish to measure up to. Probably the same reason they will hire bad professors from Harvard or Yale over better teachers from less famous schools. A self-perpatuating, group think cowardice that fails to serve their students.

Now the book is sloppy in the sense that concepts aren't developed or explained well, or at all, explanations are cloudy or lead back onto themselves. Worst of all The drill exercises and problems don't correlate well with the text. Most exercises seem to expect you to go one to two levels of creative and intuitive abstractions beyond what's stated in the text. This is not acceptable in a putatively introductory text. Despite the authors stated belief in the foreword, this is no way to teach beginning students who want to learn the basics and learn them clearly. This is totally inexcusable, naïve, and fundamentally wrongheaded.

As an example exercise 1.10 cannot be answered with the scant and unhelpful information provided.

Exercise 2.11 is truly a circuit divider problem but circuit dividers aren't introduced into later in the book. It seems the author expects you to figure out a circuit divider on your own -ya right.

This is just a preliminary taste of the sloppiness and wrong-headedness present in this tome. I have reviewed several of my textbooks all positively except for this mess.
This work is embarrassing for the authors and I would think with so many poor reviews they would work to correct some of these issues. But alas the last three editions of this book are next to identical with no changes between the editions except for rearranging the problems order in the back of the chapters and an obvious intent to generate new monies from poor students by reissuing the same tired material - classy move there.

Now I'm concerned the authors will blow off these poor ratings and just attribute them to bitter, underachieving students, but how can so many complaints be ignored? The author previous editions are almost identical to his latest mess so why doesn't he correct at least some of the issues repeatedly stated by students. One can only guess he doesn't care, is too lazy, or is in a state of denial.

Jim and Susan need to reconsider their errant ways. So many students cant all be wrong, you produced a stinker here that's sloppy and ill conceived. Please put substance in front of pretty layout and address the needs of so many frustrated students. Please!

This textbook is missing so many of the key ingredients that make a good textbook -- I am still amazed at the large amount of instructors that continue to use this inefficient and lacking text as their main instruction manual.

Using this in a circuits course probably will not help you and will make the subject more confusing most likely. If you have a poor instructor as well, consider yourself lost for the class. Get another text. The examples in here are so simple but then the homework problems make these conceptual leaps that prove quite challenging for students -- even engineering students.

This book needs quite a bit of improvement before I would use it as my main circuits text.

The difference between the example problems given and the homework problems is analogous to citing 2nd grade mathmatics in college level differential equations. Are the authors that pompous to believe that they are doing any good with this strategy? I am struggling through the book right now. It is almost painful to read, and riddled with mistakes that almost frustrate you from attempting anything else. I am a 4.0 student and accustomed to difficult material, but I usually have something to fall back on if something is unclear. Every time I ask for help from my instructor, I take out the book point out a few passages and problems, and ask him to translate it. The first words out of his mouth are always, "Just put that thing up, it will only confuse you."

To any faculty member concidering this book for their class I have this advice: Don't, that is unless the echoes of tortured students rests well on your pillow.

My advice for any student looking for the cheapest place to buy the book: Don't, save yourself. Its too late for me. Drop the class and run as far away as you can.

I hope this was of some assistance

This book replaced the book I used for the first portion of advanced circuit analysis, called Linear Circuit Analysis. That book wasn't great, but I could glean some useful information from it.
THIS BOOK .... The authors don't have any examples in the chapters. They don't explain things clearly. The drill excercises aren't even worked.
Perhaps an analogy would be helpful. Write a math book for 3rd graders. Intorduce the concept of division: " an integer which is not prime is divisible by two other integers" and then give them a massive and confusing problem set. Don't define the word integer. Don't work any problems. Bleagh!
So far, I've managed to learn this from this text: Mr. Nilsson and Ms. Riedel are clearly way more intelligent than I am. What possible use could I have for an example? To be more specific, I grasp the concepts they present (not much thanks to them), but am unable to perform the mechanics of the operations, which in no case that I can find are shown.
I guess I'll have to ask the paperboy for help.

I had to use this book for my first circuit class at the University of Miami(and sadly second one when I go back to school this fall), and it didn't help me at all. It only presents a small amount of physical information for each topic, which is usually at the beginning of each chapter, and like many others said, does not give the solutions to ANY of the problems in the back of the book. There are alot of problems mind you, but it seems that the author is just asking for way too much in these problems. After you solve for voltage or current variable, for example, he wants you to do about 8 more different things which takes ALOT of time(time most people don't have). He also uses really bad values for the passive and active elements in the circuits. Because of this, people may have a hard time when doing calculations. The most important thing, I believe, the author fails to explain in some detail is the simple passive sign convention. Obviously if you don't know this convention too well, your going to have alot of trouble solving problems(I didn't know this too well, and because I didn't, my AC problems ended up ALWAYS WRONG). He gives about a page and a half for this topic, and it's not explained well at all. The drill problems are joke also. Other topics he fails to explain indepth include Thevenin and Norton equalvilents, transist analysis, and AC circuits.

I ended up passing my first circuit course with an A, but I had to resort to 3 other references too mind you. My instructor sucked too, so in a way, I was on my own.

If anyone is planning on using this book for self-learning, I suggest you look somewhere else. I recommend Artice M. Davis' Linear Circuit Analysis. I bought it back in April, and I have been reading it since chapter one(I had to go over everything I forgot over the past year), and I understand nearly everything I have read. I'm almost on chapter 12 now, and I have done everything myself. I understand the passive sign convention, what it means when forcing functions decay with time in Transist analysis, simulation diagrams, stablilty,and it even introduced me to solving time varying circuits with Heavside operators(which makes everything almost algebraic!). This has to be one of the best, if not the best book on circuit analysis today.

It's sad too because most people are going to be dim-witted enough to use this failure of a book to fail this upcming circuit class(I hear neither of the instructors for the class are good either.), but since I have Davis's book, I don't think I'll have it too rough this time around.

Again, avoid Nilsson's circuit book like the plague!

I had to purchase this book for my intoductory ECE class, and I ended up dropping the class unable to understand the concepts. The examples provided were extemeley easy and basic, while the problems at the end of each chapter were horrific and ecclectic bunches of components. There was no explanation of how to work them, and few answers to check your work by. I have re-enrolled in the class under a different professor using a different book, and currently earning an A.

This book is [costly]for what it's worth. I am a CS student and after taking the Digital Circuits class, wanted to learn some electric circuits out of interest. I wasn't taking a class in my university (Univ. of Idaho) but this was the required book for the introduction to circuits class. So i bought this, and tried to learn on my own.

It was a nightmare. The basic concepts aren't explained well at all. The introductory chapters are just for the sake of it. The author uses a lot of calculus in places where it's not even required. If this is the required book for the first EE class, then I can assume many would have a wrong impression of EE and drop out.

I read Schaums or however thats spelt, and that made life so much easier and simpler..Analyzing the circuits even in Nilsson's book was easy.

Final Word: Don't read this book..Atleast if you want an introduction / window into Electric Circuits.

I agree with one of the other reviews. This is by far the worst electric circuits text that I have had the misfortune of being forced to use. The examples are rudamentary, as are the general explanations, and inadequately prepare one for the homework problems. I have taken electric circuit theory at the community college level and the texts used for those courses were far better. However, since I attended community college some time ago, I fear that the texts I used at the time are currently too outdated for recommendation.

This book is terrible. There are far to few answers to the problems in the back of the book. The answers that are there are also frequently wrong. It is very confusing, and close to impossible to teach yourself the material by reading the book alone. My teacher says he will never use this book again. AVOID IT.