This is maybe the best, most accessible, most informative introductory level technical book I’ve ever read on any subject. Amdahl wraps what can be very difficult and dry material in a playful narrative that features multiple vivid examples and metaphors for each topic. The writing is clear, direct, funny, and compulsively focused on forcing understanding into the reader’s brain. This emphasis makes There are No Electrons so superior to most scientific and technical texts (which often seem to take correctness as their sole goal) that it almost qualifies as a completely different genre altogether.

Often recommended as a follow up to There are No Electrons, Boolean Boogie takes the same accessibility-oriented approach but dives much more deeply into the areas of electronics specifically related to computing: boolean logic and its implementation in digital circuits, computer architecture and manufacturing processes, etc. For me, Boogie went a little off track and got overly dry when it dove really deeply into chip manufacturing processes after a great first half on digital logic, but that may vary depending on your interest. Tone is very readable, though not nearly as playful (and therefore not as memorable) as Electrons.

Probably the best project-based book out there, Making Things Talk gives a very hands-on introduction to physical computing with Arduino and Processing. Igoe focuses on the protocols used for transmitting data between physical computing projects and multimedia computers: both understanding standards such as rs-232 and bluetooth as well as designing your own custom protocols on top of those for exchanging the data specific to your application. The main downside to this approach is that it requires you to acquire a large amount of hardware to build each project in turn. While hands-on is definitely the best way to learn this material, all that purchasing may be a major roadblock for beginners just getting started. This book is, in large part, an updating of Igoe and Sullivan’s Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers, listed below, which was pre-Arduino, and renders the earlier work deprecated for most users.