Audel Electrical Course for Apprentices and Journeymen

by Paul Rosenberg

Spend your study time wisely

As you advance from student to apprentice to journeyman status, you log a lot of study hours. Make the most of those hours with this fully updated, sharply focused self-study course. It contains everything you need to know about electrical theory and applications, clearly defined and logically organized, with illustrations for clarity and review questions at the end of each chapter to help you test your knowledge.
* Understand electron theory and how electricity affects matter
* Recognize applications for both alternating and direct current
* Comprehend Ohm's Law and the laws governing magnetic circuits
* Learn from detailed drawings and diagrams
* Explore trigonometry and alternative methods of calculation
* Identify instruments and measurements used in electrical applications
* Apply proper grounding and ground testing, insulation testing, and power factor correction

432 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 2004

Reviews

[Julian Grives · Rating 1 out of 5]

CAUTION: THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR “VISUAL LEARNERS” AND MAY BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND!!!

The Electrical Courses for Apprentices & Journeymen 4th Edition was very difficult to understand. Even if the reader had a basic understanding of electronics, this book is still difficult. The author talked about the types of circuits, theories, laws, equations, and the characteristics of electricity. He also provided examples and diagrams to help the reader’s understanding. However, some of these were not very helpful. One example was the pages of symbols which offered very little explanation of what they were or meant. For most of the symbols in this book, I couldn’t follow what the symbol was indicating or the individual markings. The author only stated what the symbol did on an electrical plan or blueprint; which I found to be very disappointing. They all lacked an explanation. For this reason, I found the book difficult.
In addition, the reading was overall confusing. To read this book, I had to force and push my way through the pages and I dreaded reading it. This was a course textbook (giving the impression that there would be an exam at the completion of the book) and entirely too serious for enjoyment. This was a significant factor in my disliking of this book.
Despite all of these negative points, there were a few topics in the book that was easy to understand with helpful diagrams. One strong example of this is when the author explained the electrical current. The author states “These electrons pass from atom to atom and produce current. The electrons that move are free electrons. [This] may be compared to dominoes set on end” (Rosenberg 9). This was a point at the beginning of the book where the author was clear with his explanation and also giving an easy-to-understand analogy. However, this was not common throughout the book. If you are a visual learner, need or desire explanations for graphs or symbols, or do not have an advanced understanding of electronics, then this book is DEFINITELY not for you.

[Cooper Papp · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Electrical Course for Apprentices and Journeymen, written by Paul Rosenburg, you will find a great amount of useful information and diagrams relating to almost every topic that an electrician may find him/ herself in need of. In the book, everything from Ohm’s law to how to use different types of measurement tools is discussed. The chapters are listed in a very easy to read table of contents that shows in each chapter, only one topic is explained, which makes finding specific information fast and simple.

Since the information within the book is seemingly purposefully organized in this way, it is evident that this book is NOT of beginners who are new to electrical terms, definitions, and concepts. Although these ideas are listed in the book, they require some background knowledge acquired beforehand in order to fully make use of this book. Furthermore, the book title says it is meant to be read by “Apprentices and Journeymen”, not beginners to the field of electrical work.

As I explained earlier, this book does have a lack of explanation in some of it’s diagrams and formulas that leaves the reader confused and feeling rather lost at times in the concepts. For example, on page 106, figure 8-4, a “calculation of equal resistances in parallel” is shown (Rosenberg 106). The following writing in the book is an equation that leads to the calculation of the resistance, however, the book does not explain what these calculations are derived from. This leads the reader to attempt to memorize where the values in the equation come from and could lead to the reader making incorrect connections and result in a poor understanding of the material due to a lack of explanation on the writer's part.
In conclusion I would have to say that if you are already studying to become an apprentice or journeyman in the electrical field, this book makes a great study guide for a certification exam and I would recommend it. It is also useful to keep around after your certification as it also makes an excellent reference handbook with easy to navigate chapters that contain highly specific information. That being said, I cannot recommend this book for beginners as the information within it requires background knowledge to be known before reading.

[Jonathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

So much useful information hidden behind terrible prose, including strange repetition, beginning chapter with definition overload, overuse of passive voice, and more.

One other reviewer said something like this: too many definitions, too few (good) explanations.

[David Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly, like Audel's "Basic Electronics" this book is littered with typos and errors.
It could have been a great book but the errors have faffed it up.

[Chad Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This course book is exactly what it says it is