I was recently loaned two books edited by Jim Williams. I like the combination of technical and philosophical mix in the books. I will have a hard time giving these books back to the owner and will likely end up buying used copies for myself.

I especially like the history articles by Bob Pease and others. I just finished reading a humorous essay about "Analog Boot Camp" at Stanford University.

There are two chapters (one in each book) about oscilloscope front end design -- one written by a Tektronix engineer and the other by and HP engineer. By coincidence, a friend is trying his hand at doing this himself so I ended up passing along one of the books to him. I have a feeling it may be while before I get that one back.

Summary. I think that these books would be enjoyed by both newcomers to electronics and old hands like myself. Even though some of the technical subjects may be hard for a many, both young and old, I expect they will still be worth reading.

Analog Circuit Design: Art Science and Personalities
by Jim Williams

The Art and Science of Analog Circuit Design
by Jim Williams

 

I have both these books; they are superb. And right alongside them on the bookshelf is another good one, Bob Pease's Troubleshooting Analog Circuits, which is as much about how to do analog design well as it is about how to troubleshoot analog circuits; it contains a wealth of good information.

 

Rich -

I have the first book - I've read it cover to cover. The Zoo circuit is a wonderful read - one of my favorite Jim Williams articles. It really epitomizes a good analog engineer. Very difficult task... you work so hard on it... and then you stop trying and BOOM! the solution hits you like a ton of bricks. If you're lucky someone else is interested enough to give a shit about how you made it work so you can brag a little. Jim was lucky enough to have an entire room full of people wondering how he did it.

http://www.introni.it/pdf/Williams 07 - Book Chapters.pdf

 

I have both these books; they are superb. And right alongside them on the bookshelf is another good one, Bob Pease's Troubleshooting Analog Circuits, which is as much about how to do analog design well as it is about how to troubleshoot analog circuits; it contains a wealth of good information.

I have the Pease book. I loved his magazine articles and the talks he did at National Semiconductor seminars.