The Art of Electronics, 3rd Edition, to be released April 2015

I'm making my way through the 2nd edition now. As a software guy who occasionally writes close-to-the-metal firmware, I wish I'd read the book a lot earlier.

It's fun to wire up a few transistors and other components and see them behave the way your calculations said they would.

It's also fun to be talking to hardware engineers about firmware, and then drop into a discussion about the circuit at hand. Sometimes it makes their eyes bug out. :-) Sometimes you can even save money by suggesting a different approach that software can make better use of.

If they mess with transistor man, riot.

I learned from the 1st edition, back in 1983, when I took the electronics course for physics majors. I think it's the best textbook I've ever used, in any subject. I fell in love with analog electronics. Note my HN user name. ;-)

What's happened with analog since then? I believe that opto-electronics is much more important today, as are switchmode circuits. Some things, like systematic noise budgeting, will never go away, even if we have to learn the behaviors of some new devices. Also, it's probably harder to get away with having just a limited understanding of high speed circuits and transmission lines today. But something I like about analog electronics is that physics will always be physics.

If you liked H&H, you might also like: Building Electro-Optical Systems: Making It all Work, by Phil Hobbs.

Well there is another $120 pre-allocated :-).

I hope they make an electronic version, although I would be OK with buying a second copy and getting it scanned if they don't.

Seriously. I like to study textbooks on the train, but can't carry much more than a tablet and laptop. I'd pay for the hardback and more, just for an eBook. Preferably in a format that let's me highlight and take notes.