This book is for those of you who want to learn about electronics and computers but frankly are put off by all the gory details. If you have a short attention span, a nonexistent background in science, math, and technology, and are looking for near-instant gratification of electronics knowledge, this book is for you. Electronics is a complex subject, especially if you want to be an electronics engineer. However, if you are merely curious or just need a working knowledge of electronics for your job, this book will give you a basic education on the fundamentals without boring you to death or loading you down with the excruciating details that other books lay on you. What I have attempted to do is write a book that tells you the most important concepts and fundamentals but leaves out the minutiae that only an engineer will need or appreciate. This book contains exactly what you need to know today in the 21st century.

There are lots of basic electronics books around and you may already have read some. This one is really different. First, it does not go into detailed circuit analysis. Why? Simply, all electronic equipment today is made up of integrated circuits or chips, and we can’t see the circuits, access them, or even repair them. If you are an electronic engineer designing integrated circuits, yes, you do need to understand their operation. If you just want to learn how electronic equipment works, then you can skip this detail. This book treats circuits as simple functional building blocks whose purpose and application are easily understood.

Second , this book presents what I call the NEW electronics. Most basic electronic books dwell on the older components and circuits and ignore how electronics really is today. These books do a good job teaching you the history of electronics but little else. What you will see in this book is a fresh new wayto look at and understand electronics, especially in the context of the familiar applications you use every day made with the most advanced integrated circuits. If you complete this book and still want more, one of the more traditional basic electronics books would be your next step. See the appendix for my recommendations.