This is a complete electronics course in 128 pages! Author Forrest Mims teaches you the basics, takes you on a tour of analog and digital components, explains how they work, and shows you how they are combines for various applications. Includes circuit assembly tips and 100 electronic circuits and projects you can build and test.
The best way to learn electronics is through projects
Yep, you can get all the electronic goodies from RadioShack; however, do not overlook Amazon.
Although most of the electronics are now part of IC chips it is nice to touch what you are reading about.
The book itself is written like a lined notebook and the pictures are crude schematics and pictures that you would have seen in a notebook. The wording is in uppercase print. I write that way so it is much easier to read than most fonts. Might be missing 30+ years in technology. However, the logic is still the same.