Electrical Engineering 101: Everything You Should Have Learned in School...But Probably Didn't

by Darren Ashby

Written by an expert electronics engineer who enjoys teaching the practical side of engineering, this book covers all the subjects that a beginning EE needs to know: intuitive circuit and signal analysis, physical equivalents of electrical components, proper use of an oscilloscope, troubleshooting both digital and analog circuits, and much more! Even engineers with years in the industry can benefit from the compendium of practical information provided within.
CONTENTS:
Chapter 0: What is Electricity Really?
Chapter 1: Three Things They Should Have Taught in Engineering 101
Chapter 2: Basic Theory
Chapter 3: Pieces Parts
Chapter 4: The Real World
Chapter 5: Tools
Chapter 6: Troubleshooting
Chapter 7: Touchy-Feely Stuff
Appendix
(DRAFT)
*Covers the engineering basics that have been either left out of a typical engineer's education or forgotten over time
*No other book offers a wealth of "insider information" in one volume, specifically geared to help new engineers and provide a refresher for those with more experience
*The accompanying CD-ROM contains a reference library of electronics information, with demo simulation software and engineering calculators

Genres: Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Nonfiction, Physics, Reference, Programming

320 pages, ebook

First published December 1, 2005

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This didn't work for me. There were some useful topics, but everything jumped around with no real relation to the previous topic. There were no examples or practice problems and I know the point of this book is to focus on intuition and understanding, but I learn best from applying the theories to problems. I think in equations and relate variables to one another through those equations, so it was very difficult to follow this book without them.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing... not even two chapters in and there are some big formula mistakes!

Page 31: "Parallel resistors are only a little trickier. The equivalent resistance can be determined by the product of the values divided by the sum of the values. Just remember the product over the sum, like this:

Rt = [R1 * R2 * R3] / [R1 + R2 + R3]"

WRONG! This rule only works for two resistors! Then, right below this is the same rule for inductors. Also wrong!

I would've given this book 1 star had the descriptions of other concepts not been as intuitively written as they are. However, I cannot trust any more formulas in this book. Who knows what other mistakes are in here.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best introduction to electrical engineering that I've seen. Very practical and down to earth, engagingly written, and a consistent emphasis on fundamentals.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book to re-familiarize myself with the most basic EE concepts, but I just can't get through it. There is no particular order in which topics are discussed, and there are random circuit diagrams and equations that seem to just be throw in out of nowhere. The explanations for these circuits are difficult to follow, however I recognize that the book is meant for readers to gain a more intuitive understanding of electrical engineering. Perhaps this would be better to read after gaining a better theoretical understanding of the topics covered in this book.

3 stars because even though the circuit explanations are confusing, the book presents general information on electronic components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc) in a very simple way that is easy to remember. Some of the analogies are also pretty helpful.

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darren Ashby focuses on the basics in his book Electrical Engineering 101. He covers the fundamentals of equations, parts, and people skills. Although EE moves fast with new technology, Ohm's Law doesn't go out of style. In the spirit of simplicity, Ashby goes over the essentials and no more than that. You can analyze circuits with only six equations memorized; all the others can be derived.

Ashby has a friendly, conversational style that lends itself well to teaching. I would have liked to have had a book like this when I was learning EE in school, but that is all in the past. I read the third edition of the book.

Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[يوسف بوحايك · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book, I would recommend it to every electrical engineer interested in reread the basics in a way of an intuition understanding and innovative thinking, a way that would make you think you never study them before.

[Shashastone]

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[Xiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book that covers the basics of Electrical Engineering and I would recommend this book to any Electrical or Computer Science Major. I've noticed in my life that it is often the nature of teachers to gloss over the basics of their subject; possibly because the basics are so often used that it is assumed that the pupil will pick them up or understand them intuitively. EE101 more than adequately addresses this issue in the realm of Electrical Engineering.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading in conjunction with other books

[Talal Fitwi · Rating 3 out of 5]

انصح به مهندسي الكهرباء وخاصة الطلاب وحتى المهتمين بالكهرباء سيفيدهم هذا كتاب فهو مكتوب بشكل مبسط جدا
كنت اتمنى لو انني قرأته قبل الان لانه كان سيكون مفيدا بشكل كبير

[W.M · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy light read, walks you through the fundamentals with thorough understanding of the concepts. You must have a good background knowledge of Electrical circuits to enjoy it though.

[Sharad Shankar · Rating 1 out of 5]

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