The Stephen King of logic explains it all for you

Bebop to the Boolean Boogie, 2nd ed., by Clive "Max" Maxfield. Newnes, Boston, MA ( www.newnespress.com ), 2003. ISBN 0-7506-7543-8. 483 pages. $39.99.

A page-turner about Boolean algebra and the components that implement logic functions? Perhaps the narrative drive isn't quite what Stephen King brings to the horror genre, but Clive "Max" Maxfield's efforts in Bebop to the Boolean Boogie are closer to King's than to the average textbook author's. Nevertheless, the material is sufficiently meaty that, as the author reports in his introduction, the first edition has served as an introductory text at Yale and other universities.

The second edition takes into account the advances that have increased IC transistor count from around 14 million in 1995 to more than 330 million today. Yet, while the book provides details on state-of-the-art topics such as reconfigurable hardware, it doesn't scrimp on the basics, describing analog and digital behavior, reviewing Boolean algebra, and explaining how semiconductors work. For Test & Measurement World readers, the most useful sections describe in satisfying detail today's semiconductor devices, fabrication processes, and packaging technologies.

Two caveats: First, this book focuses on logic, as the "Boolean" in the title indicates. You won't find descriptions of phase-locked loops or derivations of S-parameters. Second, nontechnical members of your staff may find the book less than compelling, because it often provides the "how" without the "why." It describes clearly how a diode works but is less clear on why anyone should want current to flow in a single direction. Just as King must count on readers bringing innate fears to his books, Maxwell's book is most effective for readers who bring with them some electronics background.