• Embedded Systems Architecture: A Comprehensive Guide for Engineers and Programmers (Embedded Technology)
• An Embedded Software Primer
• Programming Embedded Systems: With C and GNU Development Tools, 2nd Edition
• Programming & Customizing PICmicro Microcontrollers
• Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface. Third Edition, Revised

Read this book and you'll understand why it's "cheap"
Review written by: P. Catapano From NL
I tend to agree with those who have written a negative review on this book. I might even absolve its contents - beginners or not experienced designers can still get something out of it. Clarity and didactics seem to have no consistency in that very often terms, concepts, and acronyms are given for granted, whereas other simple ideas are repeated twice within the same page (and more embarassingly with exactly the same words!).
But what really irritated me is that this book (or at least this edition) HAS NOT BEEN REVIEWED - or at least, not by anyone with more than very limited understanding skills.
Explanations are sometimes made more puzzling by using opposite sentences or words (e.g. "slower" instead of "faster"). Typo's are frequent, and even figures are missing (how can you publish a book where a blank half-page is followed by a figure's title?!?!?!?!).
Of course I have not read (and I am not going to read) subsequent editions of this book, but on (partial) excuse, I can suppose that this book's edition was hurriedly sent to press, and then (more) hurriedly withdrawn, given the amount of corrections it needs.
But then, what do you do with all that printed paper?
You sell it on the internet for a lower price...
Well, it would have been better to recycle it, it would have spared some trees and the buyers' money!

Compact, but dull and outdated
Review written by: Cheong Soon Yau From UK
This books touch a little bit on many topics in embedded system. This may be good to absolute beginner who want to have quick look into the embedded world. However, as many other books, it provides no useful and practical information to non-beginner.

This book seemed to be so outdated, not only the processors, but also the diagram, sample code text. I hardly believe its 1st Edition was in 1997, more unbelievable, this Edition was 2002. Even if the author doesnt update the content of his book, well, I think at least he should get someone to re-arrange and re-type it to make it looks nicer.

A fantastic book!
Steve Heath's treatment of a complex topic is both sound and complete, as an introduction. But this book goes further! As well as being entirely understandable, Embedded Systems Design is also extremely practical. I liked the book because it gave an excellent overview of embedded systems, and then went on to cover how they related to various microprocessor architectures and various current Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOSs). A roadmap of embedded systems is hard to find!

However, I found that other books or other media will have to be located in order to go into specific microprocessors and RTOSs I have selected. Also, information on the development life cycle and In-Circuit Emulators will have to be located. Even so, an excellent coverage of the subject, and well worth looking at.

Set your $50 on fire and save the frustration
Review written by: Clayton Gulick From Wilmington, DE United States
I have to say, I was very excited when I bought this book, thinking "this looks like a good book about embedded systems!". Until I opened it. It should have been titled "An Imcomplete Set of Cut and Pastes From White Papers". It's claim that it focuses on "practical" application is a joke. Please don't buy this book with the expectation that after reading it you will have several nifty breadboards that go "whirr" and do neato things. You won't. What you will have is a good excuse to write a scathing review of a book that like too many other technical manuals feels that there is some sort of virtue in paraphrasing technical documents, hitting it with a stapler and sending it off to the publisher with a wink and a smile, all the while claiming to be the definitive authority on whatever obsure subject they parasite from, causing us to waste time and money on yet another false promise.

Good reference material
Somewhat dry in style, but very thorough. Particularly found the section that compared/contrasted different processor types useful. Like any book technology, some of these sections will become dated. I found information in this book that I could not find anywhere else.