Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book for Learning AND Re-Learning the Basics!
Review: Having been in the Biomed field of Electronics for 15 years, it is amazing how much of the basics I had forgotten. True Biomed techs are required to be Certified Electronic Technicians, and then are given little opportunity to use the info we have learned as the industry has basically been turned into board exchange programs (very boring). In addition, much of our time is spent doing mundane safety testing and coddling nurses who love to butcher equipment. So far this book has been an excellent way for me to get reacquainted with the components. I belive that if this book were used as an introduction in high school and college, that many techs would have a much greater understanding of what the electronic world is about. This author is excellent.
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Summary: A wonderful book for those new to electronics!
Review: I found this book to contain a wealth of information. Being new to electronics, I enjoyed Randy's easy to read writing style. The book makes a excellent prerequisite to better understanding his two latest amplifier books, both of which I own.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe I am just a blockhead...
Review: I like the idea of this book explaining things in such a way that a 10 year old boy could understand them. It does not do this. Terms and concepts are introduced kind of fast and you keep reading "Now that all that theory is out of the way..." only to turn the page and slam into some more equations. Personally, I could use a little more breathing room. A 10 year old would be discouraged by this book for sure. However, I will say that this book is one of the easier-to-understand books that I have come across in my quest for a rounder head. If I read it about 50 times then I think stuff might start clicking. Explaining the practical applications for the current concept being discussed would've been helpful. For instance, what is this circuit typically used for? Perhaps I haven't given it a fighting chance. These are my initial impressions, though.
Rating: 
Summary: thought it was ok, found it was very useful
Review: I saw this book in a bookstore, got excited about being able to learn about electronics. The first part of the book was good, teaching the basics of different electronic componenets (transistors, resistors, transformers), and how to identify them. It also talks about how to calculate current, etc depending on parallel or in sequence circuits. Although I never finished the book, this knowledge became extremely helpful when my geophysics class built a magnetometer in lab. I ended up knowing more about building electonics and interpretting diagrams than the whole class (including a physics major and the teacher). So I'm happy with how the book worked out.
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Summary: I wished I had read this book first.
Review: I spend too many dollars and wasted too much time when I began buying books to teach myself the basics of electronics and hopefully become knowledgeable enough to build my own projects. After making little progress because every book I read assumed you already had some electronics background I came across Randy Slone's book. What a difference. Randy does a great job of explaining things that people with little knowlegde or ability can understand. Not only does Randy write a great book but you can also ask him questions and just like in his book he can explain in terms you can understand. What other author gives you that.
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Summary: This book got me through college!
Review: I want to say that this is the best electronics teach yourself book I have ever read. After two years of electrical engineering schooling at the University of North Dakota I was doing well but always felt I didn't quite have a grasp on a lot of the basics (especially transistors, capacitors, and inductors. In engineering all we hear is theory and math and never is anything really explained at a practical level. I got this book without really knowing all that much about practical electronics principles. This book (along with Mr. Slone's other book (The Audiophile's Project Sourcebook) got me through all of my labs and assigments in electronics (three semesters worth). I can say that this book does not describe the nitty gritty theory of everything, but that isn't its purpose. The purpose of this book is to give the reader a working knowledge of electronics principles, and it does that VERY good. I wish I would have had this book many years ago... As a compliment to this book I also recommend "Practical Electronics for Inventors" by Paul Scherz. In fact, I would be willing to say that if you studied this book well and combined it with the previous two books (which will provide even more real world experience) you will come out of it with a better general knowledge of electronics than almost any electrical engineer out of college. And if you are reading this and ARE an electrical engineer or EE student you should seriously consider this book and the others to enhance your current breadth of knowledge if you feel you aren't quite connecting it all, as I wasn't at one point. Overall this book is excellent and very easy to read and I highly recommend it to beginners and experienced people who might need a refresher course.
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Summary: The best book I've found yet!
Review: I'm a systems analyst, and wanted to get into building *things* instead of just code. So, I bought a few electronics books and set out to learn. I quickly found out that many books expect a lot of background knowledge, or just briefly touch on something and then use the concept extensively later on. This all made learning quite frustrating.That was until I found this book... This book is leaps and bounds above the others... The author explains things very clearly, and really starts from the begining. The writing style is very easy to read, and the projects in the book are actually useful. I've since bought this author's audio projects book, which is also very good. Another thing that really impressed me about this book is that the author answers his email. I had a question about a modification I wanted to make to one of his designs, and he gave me a very detailed answer, and even sent me part numbers that would be appropriate for the task. If you're setting out to learn electronics - this is definitely the book you want :)
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've found yet!
Review: I'm a systems analyst, and wanted to get into building *things* instead of just code. So, I bought a few electronics books and set out to learn. I quickly found out that many books expect a lot of background knowledge, or just briefly touch on something and then use the concept extensively later on. This all made learning quite frustrating. That was until I found this book... This book is leaps and bounds above the others... The author explains things very clearly, and really starts from the begining. The writing style is very easy to read, and the projects in the book are actually useful. I've since bought this author's audio projects book, which is also very good. Another thing that really impressed me about this book is that the author answers his email. I had a question about a modification I wanted to make to one of his designs, and he gave me a very detailed answer, and even sent me part numbers that would be appropriate for the task. If you're setting out to learn electronics - this is definitely the book you want :)
Rating:
Summary: Does the job if you are willing to work at it.
Review: If you just read this, you will at least get a better idea of whats going on inside all those boxes around your housethat plug into the wall. If take the time to read and absorb the material you will be even more rewarded. But best of all, you should actually at least build the power supply that the author uses as a teaching tool. Even if you never build anything else, you will a lot more by doing this. Be warned, it is not like a kit where you just put all the pieces together. You will have a couple of problems to solve and most likely have to do some minor innovations.
Rating:
Summary: Great book even for blockheads.
Review: If you're expecting to learn electricity theory overnight forget it. But if you have the time and determination this is the best book to start with. It may take a couple of readings to sink in but you will learn all the essentials.
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