And almost 40 years later.... still got it.Malvino's clear writing makes his guiding of the reader through increasingly complex circuits easy to understand. No words are gratuitous even though many were repeated! His repetition to reinforce concepts throughout the book is well timed and appreciated. He also teaches the material from a historical perspective which I really appreciate. I tend to believe this is how web programming should be taught - from a humble static website through to dynamic service oriented architectures.It's honestly refreshing to read a text like this. It reminds me of a Physical Chemistry textbook Professor Garetz used at Polytechnic. So few people write about complicated subjects without drowning it in terminology. It's a quality you see in these "bible" type textbooks which are still in usage 10, 20, 30+ years from their first edition run.As he states, "This doesn't mean this book is easy. It means you never get a complex explanation when a simple one will do. It means the discussion of each topic is no harder than it has to be. It means the book is for your ego trip, not mine; a reader is very smart when an author gets out of the way." How bhuddist.A note on the dating: when you hit the last two chapters you'll start to realize the content there is not very relevant for today (specifically the programming chapter) but by then you'll have learned so so much you won't even care.