This book does not explain enough of what is going on. It is way way way too superficial. One of the neat things about electronics is that it is not that heard to understand what is really going on, and what individual components do. That is knowledge you can build in. This book does not deliver that, despite having numerous pages devotes to the most insanely pedestrian subjects. The good tidbits here could be condensed down to a 10 page pamphlet.

I gave this book to an intern we have working for us in our sales dept. He is representing a technical product and does not have a technical background. He says that it has helped. Its on his desk with lots of bookmarks hanging out of it so it looks as though he's using it. I personally haven't opened it.

After reading this book cover to cover I finished with a vague understanding of the concepts of electricity, almost no understanding of components, and absolutely no understanding of any of the projects or circuits it showed. He will go over certain concepts endlessly (like what a soldering iron is, or how a switch works) but then will leave transistors, diodes, and capacitors to be explained in a paragraph. I had to clarify everything with my own research, I am getting a different book.

I bought this book to cram for a test for a new job. I had no previous electronics experience. I read it in a week and passed the test! Very easy to understand and peaked my interest in side projects as well.

This is a very poorly written book. It throws a bunch of formulas at you but doesn't explain the reasons for the formulas. (I still have no idea why some parts of the book say that electrons flow from the negative terminal to the positive, and the other parts of the book say that the current flows from positive to negative. I'm sure it's not a typo, but I would love for them to actually explain it).
Furthermore, the first 9 chapters have a bunch of info, so you have to read that first in order to start your first projects. But when you get to the projects, there aren't even that many of them. And you don't learn much from them.
I don't understand why they don't start the book off with a few very simple projects and then teach you about the differenct electronic components as you get to use them. For example, they could have you build a simple circuit that makes a light shine, and then tell you how everything worked inside, and why. No, instead they go through a whole glossary of terms, and then expect you to remember it all when you're starting out your first project.
Again, if you want to understand what you're doing, so that your hobby eventually lets you create really cool stuff, this book is not good. It is a waste of time, and I would return it had I not already marke

This book starts out with a well written introduction on different type of electronic components and how voltage etc... works, most of it is however covered in highschool physics. Then it howeverskips to semi complicated circuits with bad explanations on how they work. In my opinion the author should rather have described a few circuits in detail instead of many breifly, this would have given the reader a a much clearer understanding of electronics and circuitry. Overall im dissapointed.

This is a great starter book for those who have great desire to learn the basics. It was not boring. I honestly I would like to see an expanded version...maybe a vol.2.

Thank You Amazon !!

Having decided to give DIY audio a try, this book is a good introduction in how to get started without injuring yourself.

Great Book with easy to understand direction for the beginner to the expert

The information in this book is easy to understand and very helpful. I would recommend this to anyone.

The information in this book is easy to understand and very helpful. I would recommend this to anyone.

The information in this book is easy to understand and very helpful. I would recommend this to anyone.

This a very well writen book. I am very interested in electronic as a hobby in my retirement years and this author put it all together so I could understand the basics and move on. I refer back to it often when working on new projects. Writen so I can find parts that pertain to the situation I'm in with experiments.

being a student in a high school electronics class, i have a basic understanding of this subject, but needed this book as a study aid for my exams.

PROS-->

1.) Like any other "_____ For DUMMIES" book this resourceful book is easy-to-read, very useful to beginners, and is better than listening to a teacher lecture for 90 minutes.

2.) Categorized into 18 different chapters, which are organized enough for me to understand the basics of each topic.

3.) Provides about 3 chapters for specific projects (ranging from easy to hard) that you can test your skills with.

4.) A useful glossary that you can use for your classes or looking up mis-understood words in the text of the book.

5.) AWESOME easy-to-read , easy-to-understand diagrams.

CONS-->

1.) REMEMBER: This is another "FOR DUMMIES" book so it will NOT give any subject in depth, use this book ONLY if you are some kind of beginner who needs help in the topic.

2.) The first chapter is very general and doesn't give most readers a strong foundation to start learning more in-depth topics of electronics such as schematic diagrams.

3.) The book is organized in a peculiar way; if you don't understand the basics, then when you get into the middle of the book into harder topics than you'll be stuck and constantly be looking back and forth to understand everything. HINT: (To save yourself some future hassle, Get your basics down before you start any other chapter in the book)

CONCLUSION:

Besides the fact that I thought the book was not organized the way I would've liked it to have been, you might think different. Other than that remember if you're buying this book for a beginner's guide or as a study guide for a beginner's class than I HIGHLY advise you to buy this book.

I can change a light bulb, but this book tells me, in language anyone can understand, why the darn thing is bright. It goes into the basics in a humorous way so the points they make stick in your mind. I really liked the way they tell you how to use and understand the testing of electronic, to find out why things don't work. Then they show you how to make some fun projects. And, this all done with safety in mind by teaching you life long safety tips. Lastly, they tell you how to save money alone the way
Thanks to the authors.
Edward Carder

I can change a light bulb, but this book tells me, in language anyone can understand, why the darn thing is bright. It goes into the basics in a humorous way so the points they make stick in your mind. I really liked the way they tell you how to use and understand the testing of electronic, to find out why things don't work. Then they show you how to make some fun projects. And, this all done with safety in mind by teaching you life long safety tips. Lastly, they tell you how to save money alone the way
Thanks to the authors.
Edward Carder

I've read a few books on the subject but this is by far the best. I have had a fair bit of experience in the field but i was amazed how much stuff I didn't know until i read this book. It coveres electronics from the beginner point of few, teaches neat little trick and explains itself in plain English. If you want to start in the field of electronics as a hobby or as a profession then I whole heartidly recommend this book. If you are already adept at electronics I also recommend this book. It fills in a few gaps. It's a masterpiece.

I wanted to get a good grounding in concepts, terminology, and advice for electronics and this book was the perfect place to get it. Clear explanations and great advice helped me get my own electronics workbench set up and try my hand at a first few projects. This is a great way to get going in electronics.

I truly am the target audience for this book - a novice.
The problem with this book - the author is not thinking of the beginner. He jumps in and starts refering to components before explaining what each component is.
You don't teach reading before you teach the alphabet.
Sometimes a book needs to be edited by a novice and not an expert.

Too broad, too vauge. When it came time to put the projects together, taking what I had learned from the book, I couldn't do it. Not worth it whatsoever!

It is hard for me to totally pan this book, since I believe its main failing is that its title is misleading. It would better target its audience if it was named "Hobbyist Electronics for Dummies" or maybe "Electronic Construction for Dummies". If you are an engineering student, however, you could no more find what you need from this book than a student of computational robotics could find what they need in "10 Cool LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Invention System 2 Projects". If you are a hobbyist or a technician who just needs to know basic electronics safety and circuit construction techniques without needing to know what exactly it is that you are building, this is a very good book for that target audience. The book is well written, well organized and clear. If you are an engineer or an engineering student and you are looking for a reference book on the theory and practice of electronics, instead might I recommend "The Art of Electronics" by Horowitz. It contains tutorials on everything from basic circuit analysis to microprocessors to high-speed and high-frequency techniques. If you are a hobbyist or technician, you might want to check out the excellent "Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics" by Gibilisco. It will give you an idea of what exactly it is that those components you are soldering together actually do in a very accessible and readable style with no background in advanced mathematics being necessary.

I am only a quarter of the way through so far, but the subject matter seems to be perfect for my level of electronic understanding. It is well written, and I am completely satisfied with the purchase.

I hated this book. It is vague and broad and won't tell you much you need to know. The cute jokey style is a weak attempt to demystify when some insightful writing would serve much better.

I am currently studying for a degree in electrical/electronic engineering and would suggest to anyone in the same situation NOT to purchase this book. The information is simply too basic. I would advise someone who wants a more indepth knowledge of the subject matter to buy "A Practical Introduction to Electronic Circuits"- by Martin Hartley Jones.

I should have guessed with a name like "for Dummies", but anyhow it is an excellent beginners guide to electronics and the practical exercises are very good.

This book is simple but great. If you know nothing about electronics, this is the book for you. If you know a bit, its still the book for you. It covers everything, even helps you decide the components your workbench should have.

This is the perfect book for gaining an understanding of the basics and the buzz words of today's electronic world. It covers everything from the how and why of electronic components (parts) and circuits (parts connected together to perform a desired result) to symbols, schematic reading, meter and oscilloscope use, tools, and more. Did you know that a choke, coil, and inductor are all the same physical component and why it's referred to with 3 different names? "Electronics for Dummies" is a book less on theory and more on practical. It includes breadboarding, creating projects and printed circuit boards--from 30-minute projects to a basic microcontrolled robot--all clearly explained and easily understood. After finishing this book, you won't be a rocket scientist, but you certainly will have a basic understanding of electronics--enough to gain a confidence for further study or enough to be an informed component in today's world of circuits.

Excellent book! Starts from the very basics and also includes some fun projects. It doen't provide much theory, so if that's what your looking for don't get it. But if you're just interested into electronics and want to get the basic gist of things so you can start building your own gadgets, this is your book!

The book is good, no doubt. But on page 146 "Exploring a
Voltage Divider Circuit" the author states that by putting 2
resistors before and after the output you divide the voltage of
the output by half, I was going to buy a multimeter to test
this as it didn't sounded reasonable. But I got an electronics
simulator and tested out, and it didn't divided by half with
all resistors as stated on the book. This is the only flaw I
found so far. Maybe I'm just dummy (hence the book) and got
something wrong, English is not my mother language as well.
Anyway just thought other people would like to know.

This book is great. However, the electronic distribution of this was unnecessarily painful and you cannot easily move it from on computer to the other. This is coming from a software engineer that has over 20 years of experience - stick with the paper-based book!!!

I'm no dummy! ... Okay, so denial is the first step. I first spotted this book in my local library collection and I'm here to buy my own copy. It IS that good! I work in sales of electronic components and often feel out of touch in contact with customers. Although not even finished with the library copy, I can honestly say this is a "keeper" book. I want my own copy to make notes, highlight and underline. I already have success stories of how this informative and easy-to-read publication has made an impact. New on the market! Don't wait til it's out of print.

Overall, I did not like this book, but that doesn't mean that there aren't those to whom it might be helpful. Certainly some of the other reviewers found it helpful, so if you're convinced that you'll never be able to do anything with electronics at all, or you've found all other books to be confusing from the first, then maybe start here. Or if you just want to know how to read, but not analyze or understand, a schematic and how to solder, this book is a good choice. If you're pretty self-confident and want to actually understand how circuits work, then you probably won't find this book helpful. I was looking for something that would teach me to understand the workings of simple circuits and, ultimately, to get me on my way towards designing and altering existing ones. The author did a good job of introducing the basic concepts behind common electrical components. Certainly, I hadn't known what a piezoelectric was, that an LED was a semiconductor, or even what a semiconductor was. I did know Ohm's Law and found his coverage of it cursory, especially since he never gave any reason to use it. Those who don't like algebra will be able to skip his explanation and just use the formulas he's derived -- although, again, he doesn't actually provide any reason to ever use the formulas. His introduction to electronic components was well done. Aside from one or two isolated examples, however, rather than explaining to you how those components might be used and the principles behind their use in circuits, he instead proceeded to give you instructions on how to make very specific gadgets. While you could build those gadgets as per his instructions, the book didn't provide the means to understand how the more interesting of them functioned. At best, these projects might give you some soldering practice and probably the ability to put together pre-designed kits from schematics, but not the means to actually understand the workings of any circuit more complicated than simple series or parallel lightbulbs. If you know absolutely nothing about electricity, then this book might be helpful, but if you've even taken college physics, look elsewhere first. I would recommend considering another book or a searching for an online electronics tutorial. Backtrack to this book only if:
1. you find another book geared towards beginners to be too difficult.
2. you find the qualitative descriptions of the components in another book confusing.
3. you can't decide what type of solder or soldering iron you should get.
In cases such as those, this book might be helpful, but probably not otherwise.

Great book for somebody like me, who has always been mystified by electronics. I admit it-I always shied away from trying anything "electrical" for fear of electrocuting myself. And all the terminology overwhelmed me. I was looking for a book that would assume I knew nothing and start from the very beginning, explaining things to me in language I could understand. Learning how to read a schematic was really helpful, and the stuff about circuit boards was very interesting. I'm feeling confident enough to tackle some of my home electronics projects (like hanging that dining room fixture) in addition to some of the projects in the book.