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Forrest M. Mims III
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Getting Started in Electronics Spiral-bound – July 1, 2020

by Forrest M. Mims III (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars (753)
NEW 2020 SPIRAL BOUND EDITION This is a complete electronics course in 128 pages! Author Forrest Mims teaches you the basics, takes you on a tour of analog and digital components, explains how they work, and shows you how they are combines for various applications. Includes circuit assembly tips and 100 electronic circuits and projects you can build and test.
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  1. Print length
    128 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Master Publishing, Inc.
  4. Publication date
    July 1, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    10.7 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0945053282
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0945053286
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Forrest M. Mims, III, has written dozens of books, hundreds of articles, invented scientific devices, and travelled to the Amazon for NASA. He loves to share his knowledge with eager students!

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Master Publishing, Inc.
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 1, 2020
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 2020th
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0945053282
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0945053286
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #71,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars (753)

About the author

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Forrest M. Mims III

Forrest M. Mims III

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Thanks very much to Amazon's reviewers or for their kind comments about my books. "Getting Started in Electronics," which has sold more than 1.3 million copies, seems to have received the most attention, so I'll comment on it here.

The book was developed during a 58-day marathon session of laying out the book and then drawing/printing the pages with a 0.7 mm mechanical pencil. It was then necessary to develop and test each of the 100 circuits. Each circuit was built and tested at least three times to avoid errors. The final round of tests was done directly from the hand-lettered text. The problem with the final testing was that many of the circuits could be built from memory without referring to the circuit diagrams in the book. This, of course, could have allowed errors to slip through. So it was necessary to check off each connection to make sure the book version was correctly reassembled from scratch.

This was the first Radio Shack book that was entirely hand-lettered. Dave Gunzel, then Radio Shack's technical editor, decided it was time for a fully hand-lettered book, and I was glad to oblige. "Engineer's Notebook," which preceded "Getting Started in Electronics," was introduced with several typed pages before full hand lettering was begun. It was Dave's idea to introduce these books, which eventually led to the "Engineer's Mini-Notebook" series. Dave used to witness science entries in my hand-lettered lab notebooks, and those notebooks triggered his idea for me to do the hand-lettered books.

My major recent book is "Hawaii's Mauna Loa Observatory: 50 Years of Monitoring the Atmosphere" (University of Hawaii Press). It's up at Amazon. My newest book is "Forrest Mims' Science Experiments" (Maker Media, 2016), a compilation of 32 of my science columns in MAKE Magazine is up at Amazon.

A full list of my books, scientific papers, magazine articles and newspaper columns is at www.forrestmims.org. I am wrapping up "Environmental Science: A Practical Perspective." I am also planning a popular version of the Mauna Loa Observatory book and a new memoir about my work as a serious amateur scientist.

Forrest M. Mims III

www.forrestmims.org

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
753 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find this electronics book excellent for beginners, explaining concepts simply and effectively. They appreciate its readability, with one customer noting it reads like lecture notes, and value its hand-drawn illustrations and exceptional diagrams. Customers praise the book's style and circuit designs, with one mentioning it's particularly useful for electronic experimentation.

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Knowledge levelReadabilityBook for beginnersIllustrationsHandwritingUseStyleCircuit design
102 customers mention "Knowledge level"90 positive12 negative

Customers praise the book's ability to explain electronics in simple terms, making it a great introduction for both hobbyists and technicians.

"Getting Started in Electronics (book review) Perfect transaction/shipping, Book is very basic...." Read more

"Well Written and love the page style very retro and very informative. A must read for the beginner." Read more

"This is an awesome reference manual for the electronically challenged...it is helping me understand "pictorially" how electronics work, and..." Read more

"It's good as a definitions list but it didn't offer any depth into the content so that I could learn implications and how to's...." Read more

51 customers mention "Readability"47 positive4 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and understand, noting that it reads like good lecture notes and is more simplified than class textbooks.

"...the illustrations and explanations were very good, simple, and easy to understand considering the whole of the subject matter is not easy to present..." Read more

"...It's clear and concise, but some of the explanations use terminology or facts that the beginner doesn't know, making it a little complicated to get..." Read more

"...If you are like me and a visual learner this book is perfect. It has simple, fun drawings to describe various electronic parts and how they work..." Read more

"...Easy read with fantastic illustrations that explain the complex in an easy and fun manner...." Read more

49 customers mention "Book for beginners"49 positive0 negative

Customers find this book to be an excellent primer for beginners, particularly middle school students, and consider it the best learning and reference material for electronics.

"...This is not only a great starter, but can support you well into a career. I have several books on electronics... This is my ''go to" book...." Read more

"Great beginner book. Just got started and this book gave me some clear instruction and a bit of a rudder to go farther." Read more

"This is a great book for the beginner...." Read more

"...are a little annoying but the info is good, a little broad but good for beginners." Read more

34 customers mention "Illustrations"32 positive2 negative

Customers appreciate the book's illustrations, noting that they are well-suited for beginners and elucidating, with helpful analogies and guidance throughout. One customer mentions the inclusion of engineer drawings of components on the inside cover.

"...On a positive note, it is nicely illustrated which makes the presentation visually interesting...." Read more

"Have several other of Mims' books - simple and clear drawings and test. Great for beginners and for a refresher for an old engineer" Read more

"The drawings and layout are great, but even with a basic background in these concepts I thought it lacked important detail and explanation...." Read more

"...Easy read with fantastic illustrations that explain the complex in an easy and fun manner...." Read more

31 customers mention "Handwriting"26 positive5 negative

Customers appreciate the book's neat handwriting and text, with one customer noting its familiar hand-drawn engineering lettering style.

"Well Written and love the page style very retro and very informative. A must read for the beginner." Read more

"This is a well written book. It covers all of the basic fundamentals of electronics as well as the basic electronic parts...." Read more

"Lucid writing and inspiring choice of subject matter make this book the best I have seen on its topic...." Read more

"Very well written textbook/reference book for beginning or seasoned electrical aficionados." Read more

28 customers mention "Use"27 positive1 negative

Customers find the book helpful, with one mentioning it's indispensable for their electronics experimentation hobby, while another notes it's particularly useful for beginners.

"Very helpful for those that dont have an electrical background. Perfect for learning theory." Read more

"I really like all of the drawings. This is a great resource that describes concepts clearly and provides illustrations that anyone can understand." Read more

"It is very useful book" Read more

"...I find it a useful companion to the Radio Shack Electronics LearningLab, which I also have onhand...." Read more

9 customers mention "Style"8 positive1 negative

Customers love the look of this book.

"this book is handwriting! Prety good esthetic and clean" Read more

"...things from a conceptual basis in plain english and with beautiful illustrations so you can easily understand it without being bombarded with..." Read more

"I love the look of this book, wish I loved the contents...." Read more

"...It looks like great content, but I don't know how far I'll be able to get." Read more

7 customers mention "Circuit design"5 positive2 negative

Customers appreciate the book's coverage of circuit design, with one mentioning how to set up temporary circuits.

"Some interesting circuits but not much explanation theory-wise. Shows how to rig circuits but often skips important fundamental concepts...." Read more

"...an excellent guideline for my thinking when creating and analyzing circuits. I really wish I had this book sooner when studying in college." Read more

"...little is quantitatively described, which makes it difficult to design your own circuits or diagnose already existing circuits...." Read more

"Nice, I use this book as a reference sometimes. It comes with over ~100 circuits that you can build...." Read more

Negative one star reviews miss the point..
5 out of 5 stars
Negative one star reviews miss the point..
..however, please heed and consider what they say about the format of this book and, if a hand-printed as opposed to slick, professional type-set book is not your preference, by all means, buy something similar. But you should be aware of the background of Mr Mims' works. He is a former USAF officer and well-known scientist who has a history of similar publications done for Radio Shack and other outlets back in the 1970s and on. ALL OF HIS BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS ARE HAND LETTERED WITH HAND DONE ILLUSTRATIONS BY MR MIMS PERSONALLY. (See the attached page; I do not believe the Amazon preview got down this far to show his true skill.) They are handsome and painstakingly neat and, to a lot of us, that is part of the charm of his works! The science and electronics are 100% solid and the lined notepaper format lend a familiar "folksyness" to them that are somehow less off-putting than the dry, Thevenin- and and Kirchhoff-suffused college texts that are alternatives. It is your choice.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Amy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to understand!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2025
    Format: Spiral-boundVerified Purchase
    This book is great. It explains all the basics of electrical engineering at an easy to understand level, unlike many others. It helps you to build up to the point where you can understand books like "The Art of Electronics". It's a must read for all beginners to electronics and will set the basics straight.
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  • J.B. Langston
    5.0 out of 5 stars A comic book for (would be) electronics nerds
    Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2016
    Format: Spiral-boundVerified Purchase
    This was not, in fact, the book that taught me electronics. That honor goes to Charles Platt's Make: Electronics. However, if I had discovered it in the 80s or 90s before Platt's book existed, I'm sure it would have done the job. It's less hands-on than Platt's book, and doesn't offer as much hand-holding or practical advice for beginners, but it's very accessible nonetheless. The explanations are clear, if concise, and the drawings are very elucidating. The book explains everything you need to know about the fundamentals of electricity as well as the passive components and transistors that you'll need to build basic circuits. It also covers a few of the classic linear and digital ICs, but it was written before microcontrollers became commonplace, so it doesn't even mention them.

    But none of this explains my attachment to this book, which is on a much more emotional level. The fact that the entire book is handwritten and hand-illustrated gives it a very personal touch. The drawings are whimsical and endearing. How can you not smile at the illustrations of electrons gleefully zipping down a wire, or at a MOSFET with lightning bolts shooting out of its head because it got zapped by static? Even if you already know everything that you could possibly learn from this book, it's still worth a read. As the title of this review suggests, it's like a comic book for electronic nerds. I'm sure if I had been given this book as a kid it would have captured my imagination and gotten me hooked. Just thumb through the book and you can tell that Forrest Mims loves teaching people about electronics and has a special talent for doing so.
    62 people found this helpful
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  • Trurl
    5.0 out of 5 stars Off to a Good Start
    Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2008
    Format: Spiral-boundVerified Purchase
    This is an excellent book to learn the fundamentals to get started learning electronics. I really don't have much of a background in electronics. I got this book because I read about it in Make Magazine. Also I have been trying to complete a correspondence course in electronics. This book reviewed what I had already learned in a fraction of the number of pages that I had to read. It also introduce things that my course hasn't cover yet. Not bad for 128 pages.

    Think about it: many high schools don't have an electronics program. Mine didn't. It isn't that the material is unimportant or doesn't have job opportunities. The electronic field is huge. This is the book to start with if you know nothing of electronics and are doing a self study.

    The book is easy to understand. It wasn't until it discusses "Digital Integrated Circuits" in chapter 6 that I did not have a full understanding of the material. But I guess this is just a "start" to learning such topics. But I think it works, because it is more advanced and thus gets the reader's interest. However diode and transistor gates can become complicated.

    It is important to note there is not much math here except for some basic algebra. A few formulas, truth tables, and graphs of functions are present but the book uses them to show how electronics are represented and not to have the reader do many math problems.

    I have yet to build the circuit projects in the back of the book. That is the next step. Forrest Mims, the author, states that you have to do them to get the complete understanding of circuits. That makes sense.

    In summary, this is an excellent book and I give it a high recommendation. It is the fastest way to learn all about electronics that you were never taught.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • W. Moncure
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book to Have When Starting with Arduino
    Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2012
    Format: Spiral-boundVerified Purchase
    The whole Arduino phenomenon has done wonders for reigniting an interest in the type of gadgetry you can purchase in the ever-shrinking storage drawers in the back of the Shack, and as you start to implement some of the "cookbook" style designs that are online, those new to the electronics / integrated cirucit world will start to have a plethora of questions, such as (1) what's an RC circuit, or (2) how does a pullup resistor work in my Arduino product, and what is its purpose?

    Forrest Mimms does an excellent job providing an overall introduction to electronic components that suitable for the advanced elementary school / middle school student to the neophyte-non-engineer adult. His no-nonsense drawings combine the aesthetic of comic-strip photos with the handwritten-all-caps look of engineering textual notation. This book makes understanding elementary electronics a fun journey, and if you're actually making the projects and examples he delineates in the text, you'll develop an almost intuitve grasp of the subject. I'm not saying that you'll become an expert in the subject - but as you get into more abstract / mathematical areas of electronics and circuit building, you'll feel as if you know how to swim.

    I purchased this book because I cannot stand fiddling with things when I don't know how they work. I can't stand just following cookbook examples from Adafruit or other Arduino cookbooks available online, dropping in C++ libraries and code and plugging wires into a little blue board to watch LED's flash - I have to know what's causing what. I have been impressed with the utility of this book because it explains the concepts behind the schematics and the code you play with on an Arduino board. Forrest Mimms has an extensive amount of knowledge of the subject matter, and unlike many other "engineering" texts, he presents his information in a way that spoon-feeds the neophyte and re-emphasizes the basics for someone with a cursory understanding of electronics and circuits.

    Whether you are introducing a child to your field - and getting them started in electronics - or you're delving in for the first time yourself, before you go pick up that book on advanced engineering mathematics or a schematics reading guide, grab this book. Its images will serve as a strong mental reference for a long time to come and will answer a number (but not all) of the "why's" and "how's" behind the maker projects you work your way through but don't completely understand.

    And do consider many of the other books out there by Mimms - I believe he has written a whole book on the 555 IC. His texts are invaluable whether a beginner in microelectronics and circuits, a student, or even an experienced hand who enjoys an entertaining refresher. His "voice" in his texts is that of an amazing layman teacher - that voice and command of the subject matter possessed by the true teachers that take byzantine concepts and systems and make them accessible to the everyman. I speak from experience, and have thoroughly enjoyed FM's books - which I am now sharing with my two elementary school-aged sons.
    15 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • bobbyt
    5.0 out of 5 stars Book review
    Reviewed in Australia on December 7, 2022
    Format: Spiral-boundVerified Purchase
    Great book for beginners
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  • David Booth
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great approach to the subject.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 28, 2024
    Format: Spiral-boundVerified Purchase
    Easy to read and good explanations. Helped me enormously.
    Report
  • AVID READER
    5.0 out of 5 stars Best for learning basic electronics
    Reviewed in India on December 28, 2017
    Format: Spiral-boundVerified Purchase
    Best book to learn basic electronics. I bet you will appreciate the hard work that has gone into writing this book. I have never seen such a deligently written artifact before.
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  • L. Maria
    5.0 out of 5 stars super
    Reviewed in Germany on January 13, 2014
    Format: Spiral-boundVerified Purchase
    Das Buch ist sehr interessant gestaltet und gibt so eine fachlich gute Einführung in die Grundlagen der Elektronik, durchaus empfehlenswert.
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  • Brad
    5.0 out of 5 stars Bible for those getting into electronics
    Reviewed in Canada on December 31, 2020
    Format: Spiral-boundVerified Purchase
    This is a classic publication, I have found it very useful.
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