Customer Rating: 
Summary: Rarely is a book good or bad enough to warrant a review
Comment: This one is really good. It starts off assuming you know absolutely nothing about electricity other than you shouldn't stick knives in electrical sockets and ramps you up. Lots of simple, easy to understand diagrams and a layman's explanation make this a book you don't have to be a technogeek to understand. Unlike most college textbook authors, this person WANTS you to understand what they are saying. I really liked the quizzes at the end of each chapter, and the schematic symbol appendix.
There is a bit of a downside (or upside depending on what you are looking for). While the author presents the basic formulas and theory very clearly, with lots of examples, there is not an awful lot of "extra" math or theory. He of course drills on stuff like capacitors in parallel/series, phase diagrams, and power formulas but (for example) in discussing magnetism the author does not tell you about the (force current) hand rules, or which side is north on a coil of wire. This is great if you want to understand magnetism, but not so good if you want to do calculations.
If you want to learn how to wire a house, design a computer, build a motor, or get into short wave radio, this probably isn't the book for you. If you want to thoroughly understand basic concepts, electrical components, and some motor concepts, this is worth looking at. As for me, within 4 hours of getting this book it was my favorite among the 2 dozen electrical books I have.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Carefully written
Comment: This book presents difficult topics in an easy-to-understand fashion. Its sparing use of math equations (for instance, the differential equation for inductance is not covered, but its effects are) may be a boon or hindrance, depending on your needs and math skills. Still, I whole heatedly recommend this book to anyone new to electronics, or anyone brushing up on their skills.
I've been very impressed that I have found no spelling or grammatical errors in this book. This author knows the difference between "its", "it's", "you're" and "your" (which if you're a grammar policeman like myself, is a breath of fresh air)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Paragon of Electrical Reference Books for Everyone+
Comment: I have read many electrical books,over the years.And this one was a pleasure to work through.The only problem that one might have with the book is that there are no explainations for your answers.So,i would recommend referencing this with other electrical trouble-shooting books.Rea's electronic problem solvers book is a great addendum to explore and inquire over.If your guesstimate assumption is incorrect,it's always comforting to understand why your proposed hypothesis is wrong.Rather than meeting theoretical dead-ends and getting nowhere.I have yet to find the ideal electronics book.This one is still pretty darn good for the sleuthing novice researching advanced electrical uses.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Over explained a bit disorganized, Stan, Wikibook this!
Comment: This book has the seeds to become a fantastic book, right now it's above average. I would have given it 3 stars but there is just so much information you can learn from this book.
The real problem is there is a lot that is over-explained for the purposes of teaching oneself and lots of it is disorganized, he needs some pedagogy in his work and to think like a total clueless person - how would you take someone that knows absolutely zip and build and relate the beginning concepts step by step, for your students to build a framework?
In the real world our ancestors did not start with electron theory or physics theory, they went from generalizations to theory. This is keenly forgotten by explaining theory first, instead of going from generalizations and then explaining theory. Humans learn in the former way first, not the latter, theory is for after you've had your "folksy" understanding of electronics. This idea of theory first is a bit preposterous considering how we actually learn in the real world. I hope he takes my criticism not as a slight against his book (which is good), but to improve his communication, organization and teaching of electronics.
It's great as a reference and to teach yourself, but you'll find yourself going to the Web using google and wikipedia will bring you to a better understanding (in combination with the book) by finding other publically available books / articles, written by people who understand how the process of learning works.
I think Stan has excellent writing skills, if not a bit pedantic and academic. This is why I think he should Wiki-Book is book and open it up to other teachers/experts/novices in the field, Wikipedia is so great because errors in expression, and repeting sentences get culled and deleted by many minds.
He should check out Metaphors we live by, by George Lakoff, and do some research into cognitive linguistics to help his pedagogy / communication and teaching skills.
Doing a monolithic work by yourself is hard work, hence I suggest Stan that you open it up for others to edit, organize, and help make THE resource for beginners for the next edition.
Thanks for your hard work!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Theory...but
Comment: Just to make this clear, I'm writing this as somebody who does NOT have a degree in Electrical Engineering. I've been trying to get into electronics for years and have tried many different books.
I'll break this review into three sections as I think this book needs three different ratings.
1. 5 stars for teaching basic electronics theory and concepts. The majority of the theory is in the first two sections of the book. After wrestling with "The Art of Electronics" and the 1st edition of "Practical Electronics for Inventors" for years this was the book that finally made sense. The chapters are well paced and the tests are a good way to help think about what you've learned.
2. 3 stars for Section 3. This is an issue because section 3 is where the book starts with diodes, transistors, and electronics circuits. As far as helping us understand electronics, this section is not even near the level of the first two sections of the book. More importantly, the author does not adequately explain the circuits presented.
3. 1 or 2 stars for teaching "Practical" skills. After moving through almost 3 sections of this book, I understand a lot of theory but can't understand what is going in a basic circuit when I look at one. This book is completely lacking in the practical aspect. I assumed all this would be explained in the third section but it isn't.
I think this would be a great first book. You will, however, need other books to learn some practical skills, which is why you wanted to get into electronics in the first place.
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