I spent the better part of high school with a copy of Lancaster's TTL Cookbook in hand (still have my dog-eared copy). Then as an undergrad in 78 I re-read this primer for success. While I was more inclined towards the 'enterprise' track, this book nonetheless helped shape my attitude about money, time, and purpose. I can't recall another book that combined (good) advice regarding cashflow, always giving customers something extra, working with your body's natural cycles of energy, retirement funding, and "modifying a television set for a better money machine" (by cutting the cord and throwing it away). Still a worthwhile read, IMO.
Oh! The book is by Don Lancaster! I missed that. His electronics books were a key part of my self-education in the early 80s, as I'm sure they were for a lot of computery types my age. Guy is a hacker in the most hackerist sense possible.
I remember reading his Hardware Hacker column in Radio-Electronics magazine. I recall an article from 1989 where he described how to build a 3D printer using a UV-sensitive resin. 1989!
