ABOUT THIS BOOK
Purpose
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. At least in the case of this book, that adage is true. As an industrial electronics instructor, I was forced to use a sub-standard textbook during my first year of teaching. My students were daily frustrated with the many typographical errors and obscure explanations in this book, having spent much time at home struggling to comprehend the material within. Worse yet were the many incorrect answers in the back of the book to selected problems. Adding insult to injury was the $100+ price.Contacting the publisher proved to be an exercise in futility. Even though the particular text I was using had been in print and in popular use for a couple of years, they claimed my complaint was the first they'd ever heard. My request to review the draft for the next edition of their book was met with disinterest on their part, and I resolved to find an alternative text.
Finding a suitable alternative was more difficult than I had imagined. Sure, there were plenty of texts in print, but the really good books seemed a bit too heavy on the math and the less intimidating books omitted a lot of information I felt was important. Some of the best books were out of print, and those that were still being printed were quite expensive.
It was out of frustration that I compiled Lessons in Electric Circuits from notes and ideas I had been collecting for years. My primary goal was to put readable, high-quality information into the hands of my students, but a secondary goal was to make the book as affordable as possible. Over the years, I had experienced the benefit of receiving free instruction and encouragement in my pursuit of learning electronics from many people, including several teachers of mine in elementary and high school. Their selfless assistance played a key role in my own studies, paving the way for a rewarding career and fascinating hobby. If only I could extend the gift of their help by giving to other people what they gave to me . . .. . . . . . . .
