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No Starch Press

The Secret Life of Circuits Main Cover - FOC PREORDER

The Secret Life of Circuits Main Cover - FOC PREORDER

Regular price $39.99 USD
Regular price Sale price $39.99 USD
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Preorder shipping — your order ships together

Estimated release: September 22, 2026. Orders containing preorder items ship after the final item in the order is released and received. The shipping charge at checkout covers one combined package, not separate release-date shipments. Place separate orders for items you want shipped sooner. Publisher release dates may change.

FOC PREORDER

The Secret Life of Circuits

Solicitation:
Electronic circuit design, drawn by hand and explained from first principles. The Secret Life of Circuits teaches electronic circuit design the way a working engineer actually thinks about it: starting with the physics, using math where it earns its place, the workbench never far away. Across nearly 300 hand-drawn color illustrations, Michal Zalewski builds intuition from the ground up, showing how electrons move through conductors and semiconductors, what's really going on inside op-amps and current mirrors, how digital logic works at the gate level, and how to carry a design from schematic through PCB fabrication to working firmware. Photographed experiments. Real component behavior. The practical problems that show up in your own designs. Just the right balance of practice and theory: no Laplace transforms and no plumbing analogies. Inside, you'll learn how to:Reason about real components, including the parasitics, noise, and reflections that ideal models hideUnderstand analog building blocks like amplifiers, oscillators, and filters at the device levelWork with digital logic, memory, and clocking, and see how a rudimentary computer comes togetherDrive peripherals from a microcontroller and bring an embedded project to lifeLay out high-speed PCBs with surface-mount components and get them to work on the first tryThe Secret Life of Circuits is for inquisitive hobbyists who hit a wall in the usual books, and engineers who want to close the gap between the classroom and where the work actually happens.

Preorder Information

  • Cutoff: Penguin/PRH FOC closes 08/31/2026 at 9:00 PM Eastern.
  • Payment and cancellations: Payment is required upfront. Orders cannot be cancelled after FOC because quantities are locked with the distributor.
  • Condition: Books are expected to arrive new and unread. Minor manufacturing or distributor shelf wear can occur; contact us promptly with photos if your copy arrives materially damaged.
  • Release date: Release dates are estimates and may change. Your order will ship after the item arrives from the distributor.
  • Fulfillment: Books are inspected and packed securely before fulfillment. If an item is damaged, shorted, or unavailable, we will try to replace it first. If no replacement is available, that item will be refunded.

Item Details

  • Publisher: No Starch Press
  • Cover price: $39.99
  • FOC date: 2026-08-31
  • Release date: 2026-09-22
  • Writer: Michal Zalewski
  • Cover / variant: Main Cover
  • UPC / ISBN: 978171850480653999

Final cover art, creators, and release details are subject to publisher updates.

Returns and Refunds:
See our Returns and Refunds page for full policy details.

Materials

Shipping, Returns & Refunds

Shipping
Please review our Shipping Policy for processing times, preorder handling, combined orders, transit damage, and carrier insurance details.

Returns & Refunds
Please review our Returns & Refunds Policy for complete details.

Dimensions

Care Instructions

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Know before you order

Your Bandicoot preorder guide

A quick, plain-language guide to payment, timing, condition, and what happens if plans change.

Order cutoff
Aug 31, 2026
Estimated release
Sep 22, 2026

What is a preorder?

It reserves an item before its official release and before it is physically in our hands. Ordering early gives you the best chance of securing a copy when demand is high.

When do I pay?

Payment is collected at checkout. We use paid orders to reserve inventory and set our quantity with the publisher, distributor, or supplier.

What does FOC mean?

Final Order Cutoff is the deadline for comic shops to lock their quantities with the distributor. Once that cutoff passes, your copy has been ordered specifically for you and the order becomes final.

Are release dates guaranteed?

No. Dates come from publishers and suppliers and can move without notice. Your order stays active, and we will fulfill it after the item arrives.

When will my preorder ship?

We inspect and pack preorders after the distributor shipment reaches us. Tracking is provided through the checkout platform when it is available.

What if my order includes other items?

Preorder timing can delay a package that also contains in-stock items. Place separate orders when you need available items to ship sooner.

How are comics prepared?

New comics are inspected before fulfillment. Standard-size issues are bagged, boarded, and packed with protective materials appropriate for the order.

What grade is guaranteed?

Preorder comics are guaranteed to be 9.0 or better unless the listing says otherwise. We carefully inspect each copy, but we cannot guarantee a specific higher grade such as a 9.8 because minor printing and bindery variations can occur on brand-new books.

Will the final item match the preview image?

Publishers and manufacturers sometimes provide early artwork or prototype images. Final trade dress, packaging, colors, accessories, or other details may change before release.

Can I cancel or change my preorder?

Contact us as soon as possible. Comic preorders cannot be cancelled after FOC, and other preorders cannot be cancelled after quantities are locked with the supplier.

What if the item is damaged, shorted, or unavailable?

We will look for a replacement first. If we cannot secure one, we will refund the affected item to the original payment method.

What if the publisher cancels the item?

If the publisher or supplier cancels an item and no replacement is offered, we will refund that item.