The Art of Electronics
The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hillby Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 12 electronics books by recommenders
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.
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.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 79%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Named as a go-to recommendation
“Good -> Razavi (Fundamentals of Microelectronics), Art of Electronics”
Comment from 13 Jul 2026 in “Cursed circuits #6: reverse avalanche oscillator” “The Art of Electronics is one book I will recommend.”
Comment from 14 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: How to get started with robotics as a hobbyist?” Gives a strong grasp of electronics
“By the end of it, you'll have a better grasp of electronics than 90% of the engineers I've worked with”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Project Patchouli: Open-source electromagnetic drawing tablet hardware” “I read the Art of Electronics as a beginner.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: How to get started with robotics as a hobbyist?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Hard for those without an EE background
“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”
Comment from 13 Jul 2026 in “Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (July 2026)” “It's aimed at good university educated EE's.”
Comment from 14 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: How to get started with robotics as a hobbyist?”
Other electronics books people recommend
The four most recommended other electronics books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Secret Life of Circuitsby Michał Zalewski | 26 | 10 | 72% | 4 | — | Approved |
| The Art of Electronicsby Paul Horowitz and Winfield HillThis page | 11 | 3 | 79% | 7 | — | Approved |
| PySDR: A Guide to SDR and DSP Using Pythonby Marc Lichtman | 8 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Getting Started in Electronicsby Forrest M. Mims | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
| Practical Electronics for Inventorsby Paul Scherz | 4 | 2 | 67% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
15 of the 16 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It has taught many people how to think about circuits.”
“I don't know of any book on this subject other than Art of Electronics”
“I have enjoyed The art of Electronics”
“The problem is that AoE happily presents circuits you should almost never use right next to circuits you should almost always use”
“Good -> Razavi (Fundamentals of Microelectronics), Art of Electronics”
“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”
“could also be an incredible learning resource for a younger student (or older hobbyist!) interested in learning more about the field”
“and later Horowitz and Hill.”
“if you find that book entertaining, you should be fine.”
“I read the Art of Electronics as a beginner.”
“It's aimed at good university educated EE's.”
“The Art of Electronics is one book I will recommend.”
“It got me through the projects that I was working on at the time, but personally it didn't help me with the fundamentals.”
“that book help me turn my studies in to reality”
“By the end of it, you'll have a better grasp of electronics than 90% of the engineers I've worked with”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.