Rating: 
Summary: ? :(
Review: This book is great for you if you're an EXTREMLY slow learner, or a smart retard. I don't know pooh about electronics far beyond advanced high school physics and electron behavior. I acquired this book with high hopes. As I began to read I could tell that the writer knew what he was talking about and delivered this in a clear fashion. Suddenly he begins to talk about people going thru corridors and all kinds of analogies that seemed so redundant after a full explanation, these analogies were directed in a way that it was an insult to the reader. I felt appalled of what may be yet to come. I thought "It may be directed to someone that's still in preschool and is advancing into manhood. So I skipped 200 pages or more, to my surprise the same kind of analogies haunted me as I read. Being the only electronics book I've got, I kept on reading.... After about half an hour, I felt like burning this book of the devil, but burning a book is a sin, no, not a book like this, a book that has been passed down by Beelzebub himself has no place in this world. If you like to feel like Mr. Smarty Pants reading baby books, you might like this devil scroll taquito of a book. As a kid I would have love to have the plastic toy with the little hammer and the blocks shaped like chips that only fall in the correct slot. The toy probably got lost by the shipping company, or budget cuts or something.... If you want a decent book get Principles of Electric Circuits it costs like100 bucks, but a secondary merchant is selling new ones for $15. I myself think this is the worst book eve bought. But if you still want it, email me and I'll send you my copy given you pay for shipping... Now I know how such a big book can be so so cheap.
Rating: 
Summary: Clearly written and easy to understand.
Review: This book is like a complete course in electricity and basic electronics. Just read a few pages a day and practice the basic equations and you'll gain an excellent understanding of electronics in just a few weeks. This book would make an excellent suplementary textbook to use in a technical school or college.
Rating: 
Summary: doesn't explain much
Review: This book is one of the worst books I have ever read. When I first got it I was slightly disturbed because I thought I recieved the wrong book. Then it asks you questions about things you haven't covered yet. Things like the first chapter explains about atoms, protons, neutrons, atomic numbers, and isotopes. In the chapter review it ask many questions about resistors, solar cells, and conductors. Don't but this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, but seen better
Review: This is a good introduction to electronics. It teaches the basics about resistors, transistors, and stuff like that. However, I've seen too many books like that--there isn't enough practical up-to-date information, such as microcontrollers, or a good listing of parts, or projects. Its too much like a text book, and not enough like a hobby do-it-yourself book. There are a few great books that I'd recommend over this one--one being Practical Electronics for Inventors.
Rating: 
Summary: Detailed but not easy
Review: This is a very detailed book with many diagrams, pictures, and explanations of systems. However, sometimes the book relies on the reader to know many of the terms. When you begin through the book it's like highschool chemistry all over again. To me it was like I was going through second semester Chemistry. Luckily later on, the book eases up a bit as you learn how electrons work along with many conceptual physics ideas that aren't too hard. There are many tests which will determine your knowledge that you have obtained through the text (all with answers), there is also a final exam as you close into the ending of the book. Maybe later on there will be a better edition to be created with more explanations and an easier and comfortable flow of words. For now this is a good introduction into the world of electricity and electronics.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent intro
Review: This is an excellent intro to this subject. Gibilisco takes you through the basics at a decent pace. He is very direct and precise, and doesn't waste your time repeating things (unlike other authors who have less to say, or can't say it right the first time). Excellent chapter review questions, when you're done with them you will know you know the stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtfully written, well organized & complete
Review: This is the most complete & professionally written technical book of any kind that I've ever studied! The author never forgets that the reader is the student and not the expert. I learned so much from this book in spite of the fact that I've been an industrial electrician for 18 years! Thank you for writing such a fine text.
Rating:
Summary: Test questions are great!
Review: This is the only book I have found, on practically any subject, that has so many test questions. And they are all in multiple choice format. They aren't too easy or too hard. They really measure how well you know the material.The book takes you from specifics to generalities. It seems to get easier as you go, not harder, even though the stuff at the end (robotics, AI) is quite advanced.
Rating:
Summary: The Best I've tried so far for the true Beginner
Review: This is the only book on electronics I've read that I didn't have to use another book as a reference for. The author starts off assuming the reader is new to electronics and doesn't forget that as he introduces new topics; most authors at some point start talking in techspeak without explanation or zoom ahead to get to their favorite topic; this one doesn't. He explains topics one at a time, without zooming from electrons to transdimensional quark theory. The book starts with electricity, what it is, what it does, how its behavior relates to electronics, and he introduces the various components, circuits, and ideas one at a time. It is not intended to be a circuit design or hobby book; but this is the one to read before progressing to those books, because they will not guide you through the concepts like this author does. By the end of it, you will confidently be able to go onto a more advanced book. My only quibble with the book is that he sometimes does not go into a subject in enough technical detail, but for that Basic Electronics course by Norman Crowhurst is a nice complement. You don't need it as a reference, but it goes more into technically advanced explanations on certain concepts/circuits. (But doesn't explain things as clearly for the beginner as Gibilisco does.) If you're looking for ONE book that covers it all perfectly, you won't find it. But this is the best beginning book I've found.
Rating:
Summary: Good conceptual introduction to the material, not much more
Review: What this book does, it does well; namely, providing an introduction to the general concepts at work in electrical and electronic circuits. What it doesn't do, that many people are probably expecting from it, is to guide the reader to proficiency in anything approaching real-life circuit analysis and design, particularly once you're into Part 3 (Electronics). At that point the book reads more like a How Stuff Works article as opposed to an engineering book. That's not a terrible thing, but potential buyers should be aware of it.
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