Engineering Books

I was an eagle scout and fisherman in my time so far. I love this book. I read and practice knots with it. (I think this is only feminine if you call it macramé.) You don't need all the knots in this book but that is what is so cool about it. Morrow will show you how the knot is made and even some history. I would buy it again if I lost it. As a true knot lover this book is still fun (I have about 4 knot books) and is my favorite so far.

This book makes it hard to imagine that they could forget a knot. It is very well organized and easy to follow. My only complaint is that it is so comprehensive that it may be difficult for a beginner.

I really have not had time to do a good review of the book. But give the pictures in the guide, it looks like they did a good job in the step by step process. I know showing how to tie knots in 2-D is difficult at best. But this book will help. Thanks !

"The Morrow Guide to Knots" offers excellent coverage of how to tie a wide variety of knots. True to its goal of illustrating how to tie knots, this book does just what it says it does.

While a bit dated (the back of the book states that it takes full advantage of "...color photography..."), this book has stood the test of time quite well. I was able to pick this book up and start tying complex knots within minutes.

This is a useful book for individuals with an interest in boating, fishing, camping and/or climbing. I found, and continue to find, this book to be quite useful.

Step-by-step instructions on how to tie various types of knots are paired with great photos showing the details of the knots.

This is truly a well-written book on how to build stairs! Mr. Engel explores every aspect of stairbuilding and describes each step in the process in great detail. I highly recommend this book for the novice and the expert, alike. There's always something new to be learned by any of us and this book is chock full of new and interesting methods and tips on how one can build a stair the right way and without error! Well worth the price to purchase!

I am a serious DIYer, and when I decided to tackle a stair construction project in a two-story addition, I looked through my collection of books, downloaded stair building codes, and found whatever else I could on the internet. I also had back issues of Fine Homebuilding Magazine, where I found various articles, including the March 1998 issue which has an article by Mr. Engel, "Bulding Finish Stairs." Despite having these resources, I still lacked the confidence to tackle the project, and I wanted a better book. I bought this book based on the excellent reviews, and I haven't been disappointed. If you need to build some stairs, indoor or outdoor, this book has everything you need to start the job, provided you already own a shop full of tools and know how to use them. The book fully explains the trade-offs between various types of construction and details how to accomplish the job with illustrated clearly-written text. As an example, I located a local source for engineered stringer lumber after going to a URL listed in the book. I had some initial confusion as to whether I should buy this book since there is another book by almost the same name, "Building Stairs (For Pros by Pros) by Fine Homebuilding Editors", that received horrible reviews. That book appears to be a loose collection of former Fine Homebuilding articles, including the previously mentioned March 1998 article. I have a collection of similar books from Fine Homebuilding, and they are of somewhat limited value.

A nicely organized and well laid-out manual that covers everything from stairbuilding basics up to complex railing and finishing details. Written in an easy-to-read casual tone with clear photos and drawings, helpful sidebars and useful appendices. Definitely recommended.

This book covers every aspect of stair building very thoroughly. Some of the topics covered are both open & housed stair construction, winders, handrailing, & exterior stairs. Much attention is paid to detail. There are literally hundreds of excellent photos & clear, concise drawings. The text is easy to follow & along the way the author shares plenty of tips & techniques for building beautiful, durable stairs. Whether you're a novice or a seasoned carpenter, you'll find plenty of good information here. A great addition to my library!

For those who want to put the home back into the house this book explains how traditional detailing works and why it makes us feel so comfortable. It's a technical manual and a spriitual inspiration.

Mr. Mouzon has written a very informative book about both the terminology of architecture elements, and the reasons behind traditional construction design that just "looks right".

As someone who grew up in the building trade, most of my architecture terminology was limited, just as architecture elements implemented in most recent homes have been likewise limited. For example, the full range of classical entablature elements are seldom used today, and therefore the terminology describing those elements are not common in construction use. This book has an excellent chapter on architecture lexicon complete with a depiction of each element for ease of reference. This lexicon is very useful when describing homes built at the first of last century or earlier, and will hopefully come into use again as McMansions start rediscovering the beauty (and distinctiveness) of properly implemented classical design elements.

Concerning the appearance of correct design, this book does a great job of explaining why certain building elements are perceived as being "right" while other elements are perceived as being "not right". Originally I purchased this book so to provide guidance in the renovation of an 1884 Victorian home I purchased - I want to add on to the house but in a way that blends seamlessly into the existing structure - but found it more useful in explaining my negative visceral reaction to certain home designs I've witnessed over time, including most of the McMansions being erected in my current tear-down neighborhood of Dallas. Many of the "not right" elements I have seen are thoroughly detailed in this book - too many gables, too many different materials used on the facade, a hodge-podge of window shape and sizes, improperly scaled columns and porches, etc. I've jokingly told my wife that if another house close to mine is purchased to be torn down, I'm going to personally deliver this book to the builder with the instructions to read it before any construction plans are finalized!

This book would best benefit someone in the building trade that doesn't have a strong architecture background, someone who wants to build their own mid-to high-end home, or someone who builds spec homes of that range, all without the input of a competent architect. For the person who is building a lower-ended home many of these rules of thumbs just aren't financially attainable, though an awareness of the other applicable rules of thumbs will keep a muddled design at bay.

I will continue to use this book both as a lexicon dictionary and design reference when, in the near future, I return to the building industry.

I am using this book to assist in the detailing of my house, which we are renovating right now. I lent it to my architect and he says it is a great resource and time saver. He will be buying himself a copy. This book provides many examples of what to do and what not to do and will allow you to focus in on those details that make homes look "just not right" and correct them before costly mistakes are made.

I only wish I had known about this book six months earlier! We're attempting to build a period-inspired colonial house. I was so dissatisfied with the house plans I saw that I decided to just design the house myself using library books and determination. I wanted to build something beautiful and the "anti-McMansion". If only I had had this book earlier we would've done so many things differently: my second floor windows would've been shorter to accommodate all the stuff that's supposed to be under the eaves but now won't fit. I would've put the little stoop in a different spot. My dormers would have different proportions. The only problem with reading this book is that now when I look at our house I see all the things I did wrong.

I am not an architect, but I am a city planner and frequently work with architects and draft zoning codes which govern architecture. To me, this book is worth the money simply for the "lexicon" at the beginning which describes and illustrates the key elements of traditional building construction. No other book I have used provides these descriptions in such a readily understandable way.

Most of the book consists of a listing of "do's" and "don'ts," illustrated with photos and small drawings, that explain how each of the details should be used and work together to form a composition. I agree with one of the earlier reviewers that some of the photos are hard to read, but for the most part, it works. You may or may not share the author's strong opinions--a lot of people seem to prefer McMansions to the simpler forms of traditional architecture--but regardless of your aesthetic judgements, this book will teach you like no other how the design details come together to determine the overall look and feel of the building.

I purchased this book for my b/f who is a pipefitter with a construction company. It is one of those books that everyone wants to know where to get one. (Those that are in the trade).

This book provides lots of information in a compact form that makes it a very valuable tool for anyone involved in crosscountry pipline construction.

Mike (piping designer) - Very informative book, helps out alot with my job. Has absolutely everything in it you need to know for piping design. I would recommend this book to anyone in the piping field.

Been plumbing med gas in hospitals for a long time and this book is a must!

THIS BOOK HAS BEEN AN UNLIMITED SOURCE OF INFORMATION BOTH IN THE FIELD AND THE CLASS ROOM. IT IS FULL OF VERY USEFUL FORMULAS, CHARTS AND GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THE PLUMBER AND THE PIPEFITTER. I WOULD BE LOST IF I LOST THIS BOOK.

book was brand new and cheaper than at my college bookstore
thanks again

One of my most favorite books on structural theory. It was very easy to understand, tons of examples, and is still a valuble resource for calculating structural problems at work.

I have studied every single page of this book. It is very good for self study and an ideal one towards undergraduate perfection. Complex topics are told in a very clear manner. Examples and figures make the book so understandable. Strongly recommended before entering into advanced topics...
(I could find 2 errors but they are obvious if you be careful)

Like all his books, Hibbeler does a wonderful job organizing and laying out the material. However, also like his other books, the example problems in the chapter are not in the same realm of difficulty as the problems at the end of the chapter. With subject matter this difficult, it would be an excellent idea to acquire the solutions manual, a nearly impossible book to find. Good Luck!

I am a civil engineering student and this was the text for my structural mechanics course, and I hated it. There were no exaamples, those contained within skipped half of the steps, and there were numerous errors throughout the text. I do not reccommend this text to other students.

If you gave this book 5 stars, you obviously did not try to actually put the writ into action. There are coding and code-grammatical errors through-out his book that make it very frustrating if not impossible to use. The compiler and language use listed is out-of-date, and is impossible to use unless you've had previous coding experience. It lacks clear and concurrent BOM's , and the website listed for support apparently no longer exists.
This book ,as noted earlier,by another reviewer- has references to another book, "evil genius robotics" - It would have been nice to know that before I bought this one - as the author decides not to recover *that* information, but defers to the other book!
If you want to learn PIC / Embedded programming - avoid this- as it will leave you only more frustrated than it will be of help.

Even though there are few if none at all projects for the "evil genius", this book contains a pretty good course to learn about the PIC microcontrollers and their programming. Everything explained is in clear and simple language, even familiar most of the time. I found the content of it very helpful and I developed my own projects with a different PIC MCU, modified the code with little pain and finally everything worked fine. Unfortunately I could program only in assembler because the C compiler "HI-TECH PICC LITE" suggested by the book is too complicated and giving me a hard time to make it work properly.

This book is out of date. The Microchip Controller Kit it refers to has changed. Microchip Corp. could care less if you are using Predko's book to learn and its tech support is worthless. The C compiler that comes with Microchip Kit is crippled and unusable. Big waste of time. I returned the PICkit1 to Microchip but I am stuck with this stupid book. I tried to email Predko but his email address is blocked. Frustration after frustration. Amazon should not be selling this time wasting outdated book. Send me your address and mailing cost and you can have this book for free. Does anyone out there know another co's microcontroller that comes with C language programming that works?

I bought this book at the beginning of my learning process... I had already become good with Fortran, Matlab, and was moderately experienced with C. The text contains some good programs, but does a woefully poor job of explaining the details and quirks contained therein. I didn't understand much of what Predko gave us until I had read another text on PIC programming. I'm, still mad over all the uncorrected errors the book contains: several each chapter, some glaring, others subtle. Use at your own risk.

There are some useful projects in this book, but it's mostly a waste of money. Many of the "experiments" aren't experiments at all, but just pages of information you're supposed to read. About 1/3 of the book is devoted to entry-level C programming, and has nothing to do with the PIC microcontroller. In addition to the coding errors mentioned by others, the C-language instruction is being done by someone who knows little or nothing about C programming standards and proper programming style. Even the correct examples are "weird looking" to an experienced C programmer.

Definitely not worth the money.

Essential reading for any safety investigator. An eye-opening way to transform your investigations by moving from the old-view to the new-view. I've used this book as a 'course book' for a seminar of 25 safety professionals to great effect. Plus there is a good guide to the role of a safety department too.

We all are extremely good to forecast the past. When this simple principle is applied to human error, it is very easy blaming the human operator.

Dekker tries to put himself in the shoes of that human operator showing why an analysis that does not try to understand an event from that position is useless.

There is a very hard criticism to different kind of positions taken by people that do not make that effort.

If we try to make something as a "winzip on a summary" of the book, I think we could reach these conclusions:

When we have to analyze an event, it should be useful starting with this hipothesis: "People are not usually dumb, people are not usually crazy and people have not usually chosen the day of a big accident to make self-killing." This starting point could be enough to avoid many of the practices fairly critiziced by Dekker.

The technical treatment of schedule development was very thorough - from development, precedence diagrams, durations, resource allocation, and money and earned value. The short interval and linear schedules, which are not coverd by most books, provided an additional real world perspective. Although computer scheduling was covered, the focus remained on the therory and method that drives these programs - a welcome relief from " just learn the software program approach".

The treatment of planning was virtually nonexistant. The whole approach of the book was to carefullly organize a schedule that documents the previously decided inputs to provide the resulting output. Planning, using the scheduling tools to reorganize the imputs to get closer to a desired result, was not discussed. It is this planning that can provide the powerful benefits of the scheduling effort.Choosing Project Success - A Guide for Building Professionals