Disclaimer: I have no formal training in electronics or physics. I think it's important to note that this book's intended audience were originally a class made up of physics graduate students, inasmuch as the preface states that the book presupposes no prior knowledge of the subject. I would not consider it a primer for newcomers to the sciences.
My main reservation regarding TAOE (as a standalone text, anyway) is that the first chapter is almost deceptively easy for a complete neophyte to assimilate and after that it becomes quite a bit more challenging. I have the second edition and found the companion lab manual essential for my being able to follow the main text, as it tends to expand on things the main text addresses only in passing. This companion volume for the second edition is titled "Student Manual for the Art of Electronics" (ISBN 0-521-37709-9).
The newest third edition of TAOE also has a companion volume of its own, "Learning The Art of Electronics" in addition to the X-Chapters. I have not looked at either of these myself, but I imagine the former provides the same function as the second edition manual, and the X-Chapters pick up whatever they couldn't fit into the main text at publication.
They might also be available on Alibris.com I buy a lot of used books at that site.
How to connect the unused old editions with those that could use them?
Donating still-valuable older editions of a given text to your local library is a great idea, as many libraries will cooperate in transferring books. This is especially good if you've already replaced your book with an updated newer edition. If we don't use these sources, they're going to vanish. With all the PDF's proliferating out there, there's no substitute for a physical book in my hands, although it's often better to look at one to see what I'm getting before purchasing it. PDF's are often missing graphics, contain errors the print versions lack, etc. Below I've justified slightly derailing this thread to show how textbooks like TAOE can be acquired on the cheap.
DERAILMENT:
I have used Alibris, but there are also many other book search engines out there. It is sometimes surprising how a "rare" used book selling on Amazon for several hundred dollars can be found for pocket change on other sites if you actually take the time to search. Used booksellers generally have such an enormous inventory that keeping up with current pricing trends on an individual book is too time-consuming to be worth the trouble in most cases. I've learned to take advantage of this, as I've collected primers as fast as I can read them. Here's how I've saved quite a bit on books in general:
AmazonAmazon often has competitive pricing on used books, but one of the site's most useful features is that they include the ISBN of a given edition. The ISBN will also change if you select different bindings (hardcover/softcover). Write down both 13 digit ISBN and 10-digit ISBN for each; they're not only different numbers from time to time, but occasionally you will only find one or the other that links to a given listing by a bookseller.
WorldCatThis allows you to search for individual books held by libraries all over the world, and in many cases it will show all ISBN's for every single edition of a given title, as well as for "teacher's editions" you'd otherwise never know existed. Lab manuals, too. Also, WorldCat will allow you to search the libraries near you to find a copy on the shelf (and if you're a student, often you can get a PDF for free from said libraries to your .edu address).
Abebooks.comThis bookseller search site often lists books (sometimes even the same actual copy listed on Amazon) for less. The suggested method is to click on the "advanced search" link at top right of their homepage and then search by ISBN's as gathered above. I have also had success in clicking on the bookseller's link and contacting them directly to make an offer (the Mom & Pop type stores, anyway). You might be surprised how often this works, as many of these merchants really only pay storage overhead and the books are essentially free to them when considering their outlay for buying hundreds or thousands at a time; anything over the cost of shipping is profit as far as they are concerned and the only hassle is digging through the stacks to find what you want.
GoogleA gimme, right? After all, they have a built-in shopping feature. Nah. Again, searching by ISBN often turns up listings from bookstores you've never heard of and will never see again in subsequent searches for other books. I recommend keeping a list of ISBN's handy for books you want, as many of these places are expensive to ship from but will offer a special deal if you order multiple books in a single order.
Bookfinder.comThis is for extremely rare books that you can find nowhere else and don't mind paying through the nose for. If all other attempts to locate a given ISBN fail, this site will generally turn up at least one copy available somewhere in the world, often at surreal high prices. And you thought the eBay sellers were optimists? Welcome to the rare editions market.
Edited to show justification for derailment.