"The Secret Life of Circuits" is here

Lcamtuf has released a new book, The Secret Life of Circuits, now shipping from the publisher and listed at Barnes & Noble and Amazon (regional sites included) with broader orders expected to ship in October. It’s a premium-size, full-color hardcover with nearly 300 diagrams and illustrations, positioned as the practical reference the author wished he had when learning electronics. The book avoids heavy prerequisite math, emphasizes how to design original circuits rather than copy existing ones, and favors modern problem-solving over historical circuit archaeology. A sample chapter and related blog material covering basics like what electricity is, diodes, negative resistance, and DAC/ADC concepts are available for preview.

Substantively, the book blends hands-on experiments, clear conceptual explanations, and selective math to make topics like impedance matching, antennas, and microcontrollers feel intuitive. Peers praise it as an accessible but nontrivial tour from low-level physics to contemporary embedded systems, bridging theory and practice with attractive visuals and practical examples. The author downplayed marketing while spending over a year on writing and layout; early readers report crisp diagrams and good layout, and a tongue-in-cheek commenter noted one negative first impression of the fonts. Overall, it aims to teach readers how to think and design in electronics, not merely follow recipes.