6 ms·

This book was pivotal for me. In grad school, my advisor recommended this book, saying, "it will be right up your alley." I bought the second edition, and it w

This book was pivotal for me. In grad school, my advisor recommended this book, saying, "it will be right up your alley." I bought the second edition, and it was. It is truly a graduate level course in circuit design. I started reading this book (2nd edition) front-to-back, and when I finished it, I started again. It helped me innumerable times when I quit grad school and entered industry. When the third edition came out, I was at Google in Cambridge, and Horowitz came to talk. I had bought a counterfeit copy from Amazon (by accident), and while he didn't sign it then, he did sign it later (when I got a real copy). Personally, I think it's worth owning both the second and third editions of this book. It is truly one of the best books about electrical engineering out there.

dekhn 3y ago
The Horowitz talk at Google is excellent. He's been working on radio hardware and SETI for a long time... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sImBlq542TQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sImBlq542TQ
wildzzz 3y ago
2nd edition is the best one. Mine is falling apart at the spine but I love it
- lagrange77 3y ago
  Why (better than the most recent 3rd)?
  - GeorgeTirebiter 3y ago
    Yes, the 2nd edition (silver cover) is the best. The 'meat' in the 2nd edition, at least it seemed to me more practical stuff. The 'bad circuits' alone is awesome. OTOH, the "X Chapters" of the 3rd edition is one of those analog-guru secret handshake books where The Masters take the Apprentice deep into the bowels of kick-butt analog engineering. Where simplification are eschewed for the Real Answers. https://x.artofelectronics.net/ https://x.artofelectronics.net/
    - kragen 3y ago
      thanks for the tips! i had assumed the 3rd edition was better at least in the eyes of the authors
      - CamperBob2 3y ago
        The 3rd edition is better. It's not even close. I have no idea where these posters are coming from.
        Rediscover 3y ago
        2nd ed, chap 12, Construction Techniques, is missing from the third ed. Or I'm blind, but I don't see it here.
        CamperBob2 3y ago
        That's one serious weakness of the 3rd edition, I agree, but it's the only part I think is clearly inferior to the 2nd. The actual electronics content was updated and expanded significantly without omitting anything too important. What little the 3rd ed. does say about construction techniques isn't particularly helpful (or even true), such as when they exaggerate the challenges of working with SMT parts on page 65. It was probably better that they didn't try to go any deeper.
Waterluvian 3y ago
I’m curious about the counterfeit thing. Did he identify that fact somehow and decline to sign it? Was there some sort of authenticity check built into the books?
- kadoban 3y ago
  Amazon sells a bunch of counterfeit books. They're usually trivial to recognize by the shitty paper and printing. May not be obvious to many buyers, but the author of the book would typically be extremely familiar with what the official prints look and feel like.
- justin66 3y ago
  https://artofelectronics.net/the-book/counterfeit-editions/ https://artofelectronics.net/the-book/counterfeit-editions/
  - tvb12 3y ago
    Hmm. My hardcover copy has a mangled end-page, as seen in the last example on that page. Everything else looks pretty good, though, and my order history from 2017(!) says it was sold by Amazon Services LLC. I got it for about $59, which is the lowest price recorded on camelcamelcamel. I wasn't aware I'd bought it right at the dip. Today it's $111, which would have been brutal at the time. I can't really say I've gotten my money's worth, but there's still time. I still want to learn more electronics, but I was left wondering "what's next?" at the end of my Physics BA classes and I haven't stumbled onto the answer yet.
    - justin66 3y ago
      A high quality book that can serve as a reference has value even if you haven’t worked your way through the whole thing.
- zerr 3y ago
  As the author claims on his website, if the price is affordable then it is counterfeit. I hope the author understands that such affordable "editions" make the book accessible and popular outside the First World.

dekhn 3y ago

The Horowitz talk at Google is excellent. He's been working on radio hardware and SETI for a long time... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sImBlq542TQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sImBlq542TQ

wildzzz 3y ago

2nd edition is the best one. Mine is falling apart at the spine but I love it

lagrange77 3y ago
Why (better than the most recent 3rd)?
- GeorgeTirebiter 3y ago
  Yes, the 2nd edition (silver cover) is the best. The 'meat' in the 2nd edition, at least it seemed to me more practical stuff. The 'bad circuits' alone is awesome. OTOH, the "X Chapters" of the 3rd edition is one of those analog-guru secret handshake books where The Masters take the Apprentice deep into the bowels of kick-butt analog engineering. Where simplification are eschewed for the Real Answers. https://x.artofelectronics.net/ https://x.artofelectronics.net/
  - kragen 3y ago
    thanks for the tips! i had assumed the 3rd edition was better at least in the eyes of the authors
    - CamperBob2 3y ago
      The 3rd edition is better. It's not even close. I have no idea where these posters are coming from.
      - Rediscover 3y ago
        2nd ed, chap 12, Construction Techniques, is missing from the third ed. Or I'm blind, but I don't see it here.
        CamperBob2 3y ago
        That's one serious weakness of the 3rd edition, I agree, but it's the only part I think is clearly inferior to the 2nd. The actual electronics content was updated and expanded significantly without omitting anything too important. What little the 3rd ed. does say about construction techniques isn't particularly helpful (or even true), such as when they exaggerate the challenges of working with SMT parts on page 65. It was probably better that they didn't try to go any deeper.

Waterluvian 3y ago

I’m curious about the counterfeit thing. Did he identify that fact somehow and decline to sign it? Was there some sort of authenticity check built into the books?

kadoban 3y ago
Amazon sells a bunch of counterfeit books. They're usually trivial to recognize by the shitty paper and printing. May not be obvious to many buyers, but the author of the book would typically be extremely familiar with what the official prints look and feel like.
justin66 3y ago
https://artofelectronics.net/the-book/counterfeit-editions/ https://artofelectronics.net/the-book/counterfeit-editions/
- tvb12 3y ago
  Hmm. My hardcover copy has a mangled end-page, as seen in the last example on that page. Everything else looks pretty good, though, and my order history from 2017(!) says it was sold by Amazon Services LLC. I got it for about $59, which is the lowest price recorded on camelcamelcamel. I wasn't aware I'd bought it right at the dip. Today it's $111, which would have been brutal at the time. I can't really say I've gotten my money's worth, but there's still time. I still want to learn more electronics, but I was left wondering "what's next?" at the end of my Physics BA classes and I haven't stumbled onto the answer yet.
  - justin66 3y ago
    A high quality book that can serve as a reference has value even if you haven’t worked your way through the whole thing.
zerr 3y ago
As the author claims on his website, if the price is affordable then it is counterfeit. I hope the author understands that such affordable "editions" make the book accessible and popular outside the First World.