Just discovered this on a German blog site. The google translation follows each sentence. I can't tell if the guy liked it or not, but somehow the translation is a sort of haunting poetry:

Immerhin habe ich einmal nach dem kalten Hauch des Flieders in "Elektronen gibt es hier nicht" von Kenn Amdahl gelesen, damit ich einschlafen kann. After all, I have once the cold touch of Flieders in electron there is not "by Kenn Amdahl read, so I can fall asleep. Kommt nicht so häufig vor, vor allem nicht in diesem Dusseldorfambiente ... Not so often before, especially not in this Dusseldorf ambience ...

 

December 7, 2006

Hello Ken!

Last week I picked up your book, There Are no Electrons.
I was looking for a book to refresh me on fundamental electronics.

To me, it's amazing that anything should work at all, at all. Ever.
I'm not a total electronics beginner. I work as a broadcast engineer,
meaning I hook machines together and make them do what they're
supposed to, all in the name of television.
By and by, you get to wondering about the small and smallest workings.

To be fair, I'm not done with the book yet. Yet.
And yet, I'm really enjoying your conversational and non-pedantic way
of discussing concepts and ideas. This is great foundational
information on electronics. The book also contains as much philosophy,
and you've got an interesting point of view on the process of
education.

It definitely resonates with me, someone who doesn't function
effectively inside of academia, someone who takes responsibility for
self education.
Ken, cheers to you, thanks a bujillion, and keep up The Good Work.

Best,

Phil Richter
Brooklyn, NY

March 24, 2006
There is no spoon...

There Are No Electronics/ Electronics For Earthings
by Kenn Amdahl

So... I've always had this thing with terms and anacronyms. As an artist I tend to grasp things in my own way, I need to continually translate things into simpler. The quest to understand electronics in order to enter the world of Physical Computing at ITP I needed to grasp this thing completely.

I have purchased a fair share of electronics books and they are all good and helpful in the way that a guide in a foreign country is, but you still feel a bit far from speaking the native tongue. Kenn Amdahl's book is a really great departure from standard electronic explanations.

The departure of this book is Kenn's method of turning the rules of electronics into a kind of folk tale about the meeting of a person and an electron by the name of "Mike". The book is funny and entertaining and has helped me remember the principles of electronics in ways that I can grasp. If you have time to read this it is well worth the time. If any of you first years are reading this, email me and I will be happy to lend this to you.
David Bamford, NYU