# The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill

11 Hacker News commenters recommended The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for teaching how to think about circuits, with beginners and hobbyists among readers; the common caveat is that it is aimed at university-educated engineers.

## Why people recommend it

- Named as a go-to recommendation (2 comments): "Good -> Razavi (Fundamentals of Microelectronics), Art of Electronics" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48894107)) "The Art of Electronics is one book I will recommend." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47017584))
- Gives a strong grasp of electronics (2 comments): "By the end of it, you'll have a better grasp of electronics than 90% of the engineers I've worked with" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46539080)) "I read the Art of Electronics as a beginner." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47020508))

## What people warn about

- Hard for those without an EE background (2 comments): "the arcane art of electronics never really clicked for me because I just couldn't intuitively grasp the maths no matter which book I read" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48887029)) "It's aimed at good university educated EE's." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47018323))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Secret Life of Circuits by Michał Zalewski](https://hackerapproved.com/p/secret-life-of-circuits.md): 26 recommend
- [PySDR: A Guide to SDR and DSP Using Python by Marc Lichtman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pysdr-a-guide-to-sdr-and-dsp-using-python.md): 8 recommend
- [Getting Started in Electronics by Forrest Mims](https://hackerapproved.com/p/getting-started-in-electronics.md): 5 recommend
- [Practical Electronics for Inventors by Scherz and Monk](https://hackerapproved.com/p/practical-electronics-for-inventors.md): 4 recommend
- [Forrest Mims electronics books](https://hackerapproved.com/p/forrest-mims-electronics-books.md): 4 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0521689171?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780521689175) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill", https://hackerapproved.com/p/art-of-electronics/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).