Rating: 
Summary: Too many errors
Review: This book is an okay book for the beginner, but if you don't already have some electronic and programming knowledge, you will probably be pulling your hair out as there are a lot of typos, especially in the code samples. Since this book is suppose to take the newbie (judging from the almost agonizing explanation of binary counting)from ground zero I would extend the opinion that the errors are critical failures and eliminate the usefulness of the book. If however you are already a somewhat able "hacker" (or a professional Software Engineer like myself), the book is a great way of learning the basics of firmware writing and does in fact transfer the knowledge it is supposed to.
Rating: 
Summary: An expensive catalog
Review: This book is little more than a catalog for "Images Company", just like all of the other John Iovine books that I've read. Of course what the author fails to mention in each book, and even on the company's web site, is that _he is the owner of said company_. And yes, you can order just about everything you need from him, but be prepared to pay as much as 600% over what you would pay anywhere else (digikey, mouser, radio shack, etc). Once again, I'm left feeling cheated.One more thing.....the book is only 195 pages long, not 272 pages.
Rating: 
Summary: BUY THE BOOK!!!!!
Review: This book is the first book to buy if you are interested in the Picbasic or Picbasic pro compilers..... it will get you going fast and with confidence..I hope John writes another,more advanced, book...Soon
Rating: 
Summary: PICMicro not "true beginner" book
Review: This book is very informative; however, the author starts out telling you that he is writing as though you have no knowledge of microcontrollers, but then write the rest of the book as if you've got a little more knowledge on the subject. He explains things fairly quickly so you may feel like you're left behind. I wouldn't recommend this book if you are just barely learning about Microcontrollers. This book doesn't go into very much detail as to the how and why. The projects are helpful in showing you just how easy it is to use a microcontroller in designing circuits with funtionality
Rating:
Summary: Great basic PIC book- literally.
Review: This is a good beginner's book on PIC 16F84 microcontrollers as long as you don't mind spending an additional $100 for a third party PIC BASIC code compiler. All of the book's lessons and programs are based on this BASIC compiler (no commonality to Microchip's MPLAB). There are some truly useful projects described such as serial communication, servo motor control and switch inputs, so if your goal is to get a design up and running quickly, this might be for you. It would be more accurately described as a user manual for the BASIC compiler rather than a PIC microcontroller reference. I was kinda bugged that this wasn't mentioned in the book's description.
Rating:
Summary: Very helpfull. Great book.
Review: This is a good book for both beginners and intermediate readers alike. It guides you through the installation of the PICBasic software and your first project with detailed explanations and pictures. There are many useful projects in this book (such as a speech synthesizer, fuzzy logic, servo motor control, interfacing LCDs and a/d conversion), but you are not limited to those because once you have read it, you will be able to come up with your own unique uses for PICs. The chapters are nicely laid out, the text is clear and generally concise without getting into too much technical jargon, and the diagrams are very helpful. My only gripe is with the coding style, specificly the lack of indentation, which doesn't affect the program but helps when you have to go back and debug something. However, overall it's a great book to help get you started in PICBasic programming.
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed this book.. However,...
Review: This is one of those books that you have to read with a grain of salt. Its one of those books that want you to own the same "tools" that the author owns in order to "use" the book. This doesn't bother me. I never build any of the projects I read about in these type of books. I use them simply to learn from - then build my own projects using my own "tools." So in this respect - I did learn quite a bit about pics. So my goal in buying the book was fulfilled. This book has a great mixture of hardware and software topics. This is the second book by John Iovine that I have purchased. I enjoyed both of them... They were both well written. This book was easy to follow along. Although not strictly a beginners book - this book doesn't get too complicated...
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