Rating  - Irritating errors. Otherwise excellent resource.
About 10% of the figures seem to contain errors. Some trivial (like units) and others more unacceptable (Op-amp oscillator in figure 9.2 has + and - inputs the wrong way round). This is not the 1st edition, so many errors of a sometimes critical nature is simply shoddy work.
Conceptually it is a truly excellent resource of >900 pages. No strangely named circuits or jargon are left untouched. V. broad coverage of topics. Finally, some explanations of how circuits work. I'm astonished by the casual way in which circuits are usually presented without any explanation of their inner workings. Here we get a very plain and understandable explanation; I am not a young child but I appreciate the text's great simplicity in this regard.
If it were error free and contained the wealth of circuits that Forrest Mims provides, it would be 5 stars. Dollar per page, it's a fantastic bargain. You can secretly download it via torrent for free, but in this case the real thing is worth having.
Rating  - Practical Electronics
This book is great, very straightforward and hands-on. There is just enough theory to understand electronics fundamentals if you really want to read through it. If your just looking for some sample projects to try or to tweak, this book provides some too. Provides plenty of troubleshooting tips.
Rating  - Great information & presentation, too many errata
This book's intended audience is the serious engineer (probably with an engineering degree in a field other than electronics) looking to get into electronics. The book's title hints at this, and the book delivers on this level. This book is too advanced for the neophyte dabbler without any math background, who will quickly get lost in the math and the lack of "cookbook" examples. Make no mistake, there are plenty of example circuits, but they're provided to illustrate concepts-- they're not intended to be a recipe for constructing a real circuit (that's for the engineer to do!)
MATH: To appreciate this book, you must have a decent math background. This includes a solid working knowledge of advanced algebra and trigonometry, along with a 10000 foot view of calculus. A full working knowledge of actually solving differential equations is NOT required, but it's extremely helpful to know what derivatives and integrals look like and what they generally mean. However, the author never requires that you actually know how to solve any differential equations. Also, this book uses complex number theory, but the author provides all the details of complex number theory in the book, so there is no need to know it before reading.
After all those caveats, this is an excellent comprehensive introductory book on virtually all fundamental phenomenon and components of electronics. This includes the physics of the various electrical phenomenon, the real-life components that make up electronic circuits, and the basic "building-block" circuits that real-life circuits are built from. See the table of contents in Amazon's "look-inside" feature for an idea of the scope of topics. If you read and understand this book cover to cover, you will be designing, building, and testing your own basic circuits, without the need to ever rely on a "cookbook" circuit again.
This book does NOT cover the following:
* Advanced building-block circuits
* Specialty components and circuits
* Techniques and guidelines for designing difficult and advanced circuits
* The many "tricks" for designing and debugging circuits that years of experience will teach
* Advanced math for detailed analysis of circuits
The author's style is, above all else, pragmatic in every respect all the way to the very end. The explanations have the unmistakable and incessant theme of "THIS IS HOW IT WORKS AND WHY". The author trudges through as much (or as little) detail as necessary to enable the bright mind to understand, and then moves on to the next topic. Even when there is pure theory out of necessity, the author's style never strays far from cornerstone of always keeping things down to earth and practical.
This book is full of extensive explanations of the "WHY" of various phenomenon and components. For example, the phenomenon of "inductance" goes on for a dozen pages or so, explaining how the motion of electrons creates a magnetic field in a charging inductor, and how the magnetic fields create a back-voltage which acts against the flow of current. This explanation of inductance is decorated with dozens of detailed 3D illustrations showing the wire, electrons, magnetic fields, currents, voltages, etc. Other phenomenon are described in similar detail. The physics and theory that the author presents do not overwhelm you, but are sufficient to leave you feeling like you really understand the phenomenon, rather than just having to accept something as magic.
I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 because there are too many errata, especially in the theory section. The book is in need of a simple editing pass by a person who understands EE. This is a shame because most of the errata are silly typos or accidental oversights, but they can confuse your ability to understand something when you're learning for the first time.
Rating - Practical Electronics for Inventors
I have been in application engineering for 30 years and have collected a number of "reference books". I have found that there are some that stay on the shelf (they only look good) and some that I refer to frequently. This book is one of later type as it has the sort of information that permits me to proceed with my project without having to go to another general electronics reference book. It is written in a way that is usable by novices as well as experienced designers. It has the relevant application facts and enough data and math to allow the user to apply it.
Well written, organized, and illustrated, I recommend this book as a positive addition to your library whether you are just starting out or experienced.
Rating - My first textbook on the electronics subject
I'm student of Riga Technical University, at faculty of electronics and telecommunications. I wanted to have some textbook on the field of electronics, but not only a raw theory, also a bit of practical knowledge. I started to read the book and i realized that this is the book i have been looking for. I can't even compare this book to the books i have read in the university. This is great book if you are trying to refresh your knowledge or start doing something in the electronics field. Also as i started to work at the Institute of Electronics and Computer science, this book was very useful for me, to refresh some information on specific article.
Great book!
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