Should I buy or rent this electronics textbook?

[TimNJ]

Hi everyone,

I'm in my 4th semester as an EE student. I am taking my first real electronics class which will discuss the p-n junction, transistors, and all of that fun stuff. Electronics has been my biggest hobby for last 5-6 years, which has lead me to buy several books on my own.

The required book is "Microelectronic Circuits" by Sedra & Smith. Like most required texts, the Amazon reviews are not very strong, though better than some. I have looked at the previous version and it seems okay to me. There are quite a few worked out problems and decent explanations, but I'm not sure if it makes a good reference/learning book.

Here are the books I own:

Art of Electronics, Art of Electronics Student Manual, Design of Modern Transistor Circuits, Digital Design and Computer Architecture, A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations, RF Circuit Design, Designing Power Audio Amplifiers, Semiconductor Device Fundamentals, Electromagnetic Compatibility Engineering

So that's a decent spread. However, none of these are true "textbooks" and I was wondering if there's any good in owning textbooks vs. books written for non academic consumption/reference.

Here's the book in question: http://www.amazon.com/Microelectronic-Circuits-Electrical-Computer-Engineering/dp/0195323033/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422557460&sr=1-1&keywords=9780195323030&pebp=1422557462170&peasin=195323033

Previous edition (Chapter 1): https://haseebsohail.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/chapter-1-microelectronic-circuits-sedra-smith-5th-edition.pdf

Any ideas? Thanks so much!

[saturation]

For school required books, rule of thumb, when in doubt rent rather than buy.  If after the course you think it worth owning, after spending nearly a year on it giving it a field trial, then you'll know its worth buying. You can also try the used market, then sell back once the course is done or decide to keep it.

[Excavatoree]

I used that book, albeit 20 years ago, so I'm sure it's changed since then.   I found it to be a good book, and I learned a good bit from it - reading more than the "required" reading for the class.

 I kept mine, but I'd say it depends on the cost difference.   Textbooks have gone up a lot since I was in school, but the book was more than worth the small amount I'd have gotten selling it back.  (I bought it used - we didn't have book rental back in the dark ages when I went to school)

EDIT: sorry, I didn't see your link showing what the cost difference is.    My, the cost for buying it has gone up.   That's a HUGE difference.  Knowing that, I'd say do as Saturation suggests - rent it and see if you want to buy it. 

LATER EDIT:  I'm not saying I'm old or anything, but when I got home I checked my book to see if the price tag was still on it.  Seems I took it off, but I think it was 56 dollars or so.   It is the third edition.  Man, I feel old.

[nanofrog]

Another vote for rent.

As mentioned, if you decide you like it enough, you can purchase it later (used is still over $100).

Another alternative, but not recommended for course work*, would be an international edition (*there's a warning about this particular international version not being identical to the hardcover version in Amazon's reviews, so not the generic warning typically printed on international versions to discourage US students from purchasing). Would be perfectly fine to purchase after the course if you really like the book though, and far easier on the wallet. 

[TimNJ]

For school required books, rule of thumb, when in doubt rent rather than buy.  If after the course you think it worth owning, after spending nearly a year on it giving it a field trial, then you'll know its worth buying. You can also try the used market, then sell back once the course is done or decide to keep it.

Yeah I think you're right. In the beginning of college, I bought my textbooks thinking I would want to look back at them for some reason. Looking back, I doubt I would ever open up my Chemistry book ever again. I'd probably just Google it.

I used that book, albeit 20 years ago, so I'm sure it's changed since then.   I found it to be a good book, and I learned a good bit from it - reading more than the "required" reading for the class.

I kept mine, but I'd say it depends on the cost difference.   Textbooks have gone up a lot since I was in school, but the book was more than worth the small amount I'd have gotten selling it back.  (I bought it used - we didn't have book rental back in the dark ages when I went to school)....(continued)

Interesting. I suppose it's been a popular book over the years. But yeah, the price is really prohibitive of buying these days. The renting price is probably the same as the price to buy back when you were in school. Publishers are making a killing and only making marginal improvements.

Another vote for rent.

As mentioned, if you decide you like it enough, you can purchase it later (used is still over $100).

Another alternative, but not recommended for course work*, would be an international edition (*there's a warning about this particular international version not being identical to the hardcover version in Amazon's reviews, so not the generic warning typically printed on international versions to discourage US students from purchasing). Would be perfectly fine to purchase after the course if you really like the book though, and far easier on the wallet. 

Thanks. Very sound advice. I have a book "Semiconductor Device Fundamentals" in the international edition. It is a highly acclaimed book but I knew I wasn't going to use it enough to warrant buying the full US edition, so I bought the international one off eBay. Quality of print isn't all that good, but value-wise, it's very good.

[KJDS]

buy second hand, there's certainly plenty in the UK available

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?an=Sedra+%26+Smith&sts=t

[Neganur]

I have the Sedra/Smith, it's a good college book on especially analogue electronics. Very detailed, holding-hand-style with many illustrations, exercises and examples.
If it's too expensive new, try to get a second hand or older edition, well worth it imo.

[cjk2]

I think I may have had a full PDF of this book back when I was in school. I am not sure if I found it online or from a friend. Either way my advise is to always look for a PDF online before you spend hundreds of dollars but some will likely disagree with me on this.

[deephaven]

Inspired by KJDS, here is the US site: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?isbn=9780030073281&sts=t

[TimNJ]

Hey guys,

After some careful consideration, reading through my current library, and reading a past edition of the Sedra/Smith book, I decided to dish out the big bucks and buy it. Between you guys, and reading through some posts on other boards, it seems that the Sedra/Smith is a very comprehensive book with a bounty of information. I'm usually not the biggest fan of a lot of math, but sometimes math is one of the best ways to describe how something works. It was stupid expensive ($190) but I figure it will be a valuable reference.