Bring microwave to cram session

This book makes a genuine effort to improve accessibility to solid-state devices, but one wonders whether slavish adherence to the strict template approach of US undergraduate texts is appropriate. Each chapter is loaded with "Preview in-text exercise problems", "Related technology", "Summary", "Checkpoint", "Review questions" and so on. This reviewer did not know whether to be hurt or flattered when he found his own introductory book on this subject (1987) cited in "Further reading" as being "at an advanced level compared to this text".

The range of topics covered means that some difficult material has been presented as "take-it-or-leave-it" equations. That said, the amount of material covered is excellent, and my only regret is the absence of microwave devices, which would have filled the gap between conventional electronic components and optical devices.

Does this book have a market? The answer is a qualified yes. Overstretched lecturers needing an accessible source for notes should cherish it. It may not be suitable as a primary text for the average UK undergraduate in engineering, electrical engineering and physics, but it would certainly be very useful for pre-examination cramming.

Donard de Cogan is reader in computing, University of East Anglia.