5 comments about Fundamentals of Aerodynamics.

1. With no doubt this is the best Aerodynamics book for college students ever written...ever!Very clear explanations,full of examples and a good set of exercises to challenge your understanding of the subject. The only negative point is that there no answers to the problems.



2. 5 Stars.
   
   Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, by John D. Anderson, provides an excellent foundation in aerodynamics for engineers. Presented at the graduate or senior undergraduate level, this book covers all of the fundamentals in a student-friendly manner that also works well as a professional reference.
   
   Dr. Anderson has quite a gift for placing information in appropriate contexts - both technically and historically. The book is well organized and promotes learning by laying a solid foundation and then building on that foundation. The sample problems presented through the chapters are clear and effective at illustrating important points.
   
   Major topics include: Incompressible non-viscous flow, Compressible flow, and Viscous flow (including an introduction to boundary layers). Significant time is spent on potential flow theory and it's application to the prediction of lift and induced drag.
   
   Also recommended for students of aeronautics are Dr. Anderson's other titles, including:
   
   - Introduction to Flight
   
   - Modern Compressible Flow with a Historical Perspective
   
   - Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics



3. Dr. Anderson's book is an excellent tool if you'd like to teach yourself aerodynamics and have the background in math to handle it (multivariable and vector calculus...get "Div, Grad, Curl, and All That" if you need a refresher). His derivations are very clear and his chapter maps provide a nice road guide to give you an idea of where you're going. This book is also very good at maintaining rigor in describing the limitations of the derivations, a necessary quality since a lot of us tend to forget that the results we see are only valid in certain circumstances (incompressible flow, irrotational flow, inviscid flow, etc.).
   
   Very few downsides: a few typos and no answers to end-of-the-chapter problems.



4. Over 5 years as an aerospace engineer at Boeing and Lockheed Martin, I have used this book far more than any other for aeronautics. This is not only a good textbook, but an excellent reference, and one of the few technical books I have found worth reading cover-to-cover. Many engineers simply say "look at Anderson" to find whatever answers you need.



5. 
   "Fundamentals of Aerodynamics" is an excellent book by a knowledgeable author that provides the basic know-how and skills that an aeronautical engineer will find useful and helpful. The book is well written in a readable and easy to follow format that provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of aerodynamics. The author reinforced his message with numerous helpful examples and several illustrations which should help the reader to grasp the aerodynamics concepts and principles.
   
   This is among the best aerodynamics books on the market for those studying the subject. You will find the aerodynamics concepts and theory well presented and explained.
   
   This is recommended reading for those studying aeronautical engineering at undergraduate level. Practicing aeronautical engineers will also find the book to be a useful reference.

5 comments about Fundamentals of Thermodynamics.

1. This book assumes you memorize everything they say once. In an example in chapter six, they went from V/2 to V/2 x 788 x 37.12 without saying why, without using symbols to show what the numbers represent, without even including units to help you figure out what they are doing. It turned out to be a conversion mentioned on a page in a chapter, not in any of the tables or indexes for conversion. Trying to follow their train of thought is like trying to walk up a flight of stairs with three foot high steps.



2. Over the past twenty-five years, I have used this book (or its earlier editions) as a student, teaching assistant, adjunct professor and as a practicing engineer and have found that I used this book more than the dozen or so books that I have on thermodynamics. This introductory book on thermodynamics contains many chapters devoted to the basic principles such as defining the state and the definition and determination of work. Later chapters include cycles, combustion, equilibrium and compressible flow. It is a very valuable reference for anyone involved in thermodynamics, because it contains a good overview of all the major topics and concerns.
   
   Some of the reviews provided by current students are appropriate. The authors sometime assume that the first-time reader has a much stronger background than they do and or that can remember everything in the previous chapters. As a result, the sample problems are lacking in a detailed explanation of the concepts leaving the reader confused; however, once the reader understands thermodynamics, these sample problems can be a great help.



3. This book does have one merit. The thermodynamic tables in the back are extensive and easy to read. There is a wealth of information there that makes this a worthwhile reference book.
   
   However, this book is first and foremost a textbook, and as a learning instrument it is an utter failure.
   
   The book is littered with errors. Some are trivial, such as misspelled words or incorrect references. However, many are serious errors such as incorrect formulas or errors in the answer key and can leave you dumbfounded as you try to figure out how a seemingly impossible miracle of mathematics can take place.
   
   I remember one incident where I spent almost two hours working on one problem, trying everything I could think of to get my answer to line up with the answer in the back of the book. I eventually gave up and asked my professor the next day. He worked it out and it turned out that my original answer was correct and the book was wrong! This was an all-too-frequent experience for me as I used this book, and if I had a nickel for every minute I wasted finding errors in this book I would have an easy time paying for my other textbooks.
   
   Second, the book is incredibly confusing. I had over a 3.7 GPA going into Thermo I and was in my university's honors program. I don't typically have problems with comprehending textbooks, even poorly written ones. However, this book is totally incomprehensible to a student who has never taken a course in thermodynamics. The logic meanders to and fro apparently lacking any direction. The main points of each chapter are often hidden and poorly outlined. The explanations sometimes get sidetracked by pointless trains of thought, making it rather hard to pay attention. It might as well be in Greek.
   
   Third, the book makes almost no connection between theory and practice. If you are a visual learner, you are completely out of luck. I can't remember one single picture in the book. Most textbooks utilize pictures just for the sake of having pictures or to give the author an excuse to write a new revision. This book is in dire need of a few well-chosen pictures, but all you will get are a plethora of vague and boring diagrams. An appropriate picture can help a student make the transition from theory (in this case, the text and discussion of the book) to practice (the problems). I found that I could (with great difficulty) translate the unintelligible babble of the text into an understanding of the fundamental concepts, but when I needed to use this understanding to solve a complicated problem, the connection between theory and practice wasn't there.
   
   The sad thing is that, if your professor uses this book and assigns problems from it, you'll probably have to buy it anyway. It's a total waste and I hope your professor is a good one because you won't be learning anything in these pages.



4. I would say it's more for grad students than undergrad, the way it's written makes you pull your hair out. If you really have to get this book make sure you get something else with it. also you better hope your professor is really a good teacher or else you're screwed. I always teach my self, but not with this book.



5. After using this book for one semester of thermodynamics I didn't really feel like I had a good handle on the material. There is far too much superfluous information in this book to make it thicker. Some of the sections I found to be unnecessary, especially the first chapter. The only redeeming qualities of the book are the exhaustive thermo tables and the great deal of homework problems at the back of each chapter. As a student, you might want a book which lays down the concepts before jumping so quickly to practice.

3 comments about Thermodynamics, Statistical Thermodynamics, and Kinetics.

1. Buy Levines book on physical chemistry that is a much better text. I am not saying that is is the best because I have not read every thermo book but if you want good advice, then take my word and buy Levines book. It seems as though engels text has not been edited or proofread enough or maybe not at all. I think he just solved all the problems once and published it. There a numerous times in which he trys to make problems tricky by wording it unclearly, thinking he is smart or something, and the numerical answer he has in the back will be completely wrong. There is one problem I remember where he asks you to find the atomic weight of an atom and his answer is 1235 kg/mol or something ridiculous like that. Most of the time I can see where he made his mistakes, and notice that he tries to trick students and ends up fooling himself. Some people like texts because they are not thorough and make it easy to read a hard subject, so they don't care. But this guys just leaves things out completely.



2. This book is suitable for a themodynamics course in physical chemistry, in that gives a basic thermo course without the quantum portion in it, leaving that for a separate book. This book is a long way from the mathmatic rigor found in the Atkins text. The Atkins text was famous for its detailed proofs and brilliant math, but lacks a user-friendly feel. This book was user friendly but did not give details that could lend itself further study or understanding. If you are using this text, Mcquarrie's text is dated but is a wonderful suppliment to this text, it gives more detail where needed filling in the gaps where this text generally errs toward simplicity.
   The best thing about this book is its simplicity and its readability. The worst thing about this book is its simplicity because it does not explain in detail why the mathmatical model is the way it is because of the physical interactions.



3. As an undergraduate chemistry major, this is the first of my textbooks that I have sold after the course was over. The book does an adequate job of explaining the basics of thermodynamics and the macroscopic view of physical chemistry, but has some severe limitations. Equations are poorly organized and can be very difficult to find when you're searching for them, and the relationships between equations are often difficult to discern (a concept that seemed to me very central to undergraduate Pchem). The worst part of the book, however, is that it is a poorly edited first edition. Many of the problems in the back (and their accompanying answers) have been pulled from an out of print book by Gilbert Castellan, but the tables in the back have been updated with current numbers. This results in occasional correct answers that do not match the answers in the book.
   
   If your professor requires it, you're probably going have to buy it anyway, but if you're interested in a basic physical chemistry reference you're probably better off with Atkins.

4 comments about Molecular Driving Forces: Statistical Thermodynamics in CHemistry & Biology.

1. The topic of this book, the physical chemistry of molecules, especially those relevant to biology, is one of the most challenging courses to a college student in chemist. But these authors have tried to make it easy for you - and they succeed. They used figures, pictures and analogies to help you to understand some of the most sophisticated concepts in science. For example entropy. The authors are leading researchers in the field and they brought a unique perspective to the subject; the writing is very lucid.



2. I have this book assigned as a text book for one of my classes and it is superb. Very clear explaination from the very basics of statistics and how it builds up to thermodynamics and beyond. The book succintly explains all of the necessary math and has instructive examples to drive the point home. I really like this book!



3. I always consult this book when I need to brush up my stat. Mech. Highly recommended.



4. This book covers a broad field of topics not present in similar books more than usual ones. A great value for a teacher or for advanced undergraduate students!

5 comments about Introduction to the Thermodynamics of Materials, Fitfth Edition.

1. not timely delivered, the condition of the book is not good



2. I used this text in a thermo of materials course after using the Gyftopoulos text for a general thermo course. In comparison, I found the Gaskell text horrible. For a 4th ed, there are a tremendous number of typos and equation errors, the nomenclature is a little odd, and the equations aren't general, they inherently assume P = 1atm etc. I don't recommend this text.



3. Thermodynamics is one of those topics covered in multiple branches of science such as physics, chemistry, geology, materials science, chemical engineering, etc... This book approaches the subject from materials science and is meant to serve as the book for a one or two semester course in thermo. First of, it is not meant for beginners to thermo. I used this book in a course taught by one of the best instructors in my department, after having taken two easier courses in thermo. Yet I still found it difficult. Second, the math is advanced enough that one should not take the course without having differential equations. Third, the example problems can get quite difficult real quickly; and not all have solutions. But overall, the text is a good reflection of the subject; difficult and time-consuming to master.



4. I used this book for my course in Materials Thermodynamics, and I must say that it's got some pretty good material and also some poor parts. In particular Gaskell usually does a good job of explaining his derivations, but there are times when the typographic errors get in the way and you sit there for an hour, until your teacher finally tells you that Gaskell made a mistake.
   
   Another annoyance is that Gaskell's solutions in the back of the book are sometimes wrong, which means that it may be difficult to use a self-teaching book. In addition, Gaskell's solutions to some configurational entropy problems are just completely unconventional and nonsensical from an intuitive standpoint -- my teacher told us to disregard his method entirely.
   
   The text does have some pluses: it has plentiful diagrams, excellent thermodynamic appendicies, and in general does a good job of rigorously explaining every concept. It's definitely not a beginner's book, but Thermodynamics is a complex topic and there are certain assumptions made of the reader in any Thermodynamics textbook.



5. Great Resource. There are a few typos that have been addressed in the later edition, but overall this edition flows well and is well organized.

5 comments about Introduction to Fluid Mechanics.

1. This book is good at the respeact that it has a variety amount of problem of each type that the author WANT students to solve.
   
   The above is the positive side. But in the negative respect:
   
   1) This book doesn't have enough samples to help the students the grasp on the correct idea, maybe he should add an extra one or two samples into each applicable section of the chapters. (The author sometimes expect us to get all different types of problems by only explaining one type of problems, which left us in blank in approaching other types of problems.)
   
   2) The author has a hard time formating the paragraphs to make it readable.(It is word heavy in some sections that makes me stop reading. In addition, it is too verbose in some parts, and it is not having enough detail in some other parts.)
   
   3) The problem picturs and wording are often confusing. (He should clear up some of the pictures and word. ie. some pictures are supposed to have a nozzle, but it doesn't, some picture's dimension is supposed to be as same as the others, but it doesn't look like it. We have to make the correct kind of ASSUMPTIONS(mistakes/unclarity) in order the get the solution)
   
   4)Not enough "cover page stuff", a lot of times i have to look for a certain convertion/constant in order to complete the problem.
   
   5) WE are ASSUMED to know all the convertion from all the different kind of unit system. (ie. WHAT is degree R, and how do you convert it to degree C? How do you convert Btu to another system?)(He needs to have more explaination on that.
   
   That is the stuff i hate about this book so far.I think this book has some great materials, but he just need to present it better! By considering this is my first fluid book, i don't know what is in the others, so i'm not giving it a one instead.



2. This book goes a long way to describe the most simple concepts in a confusing way. I ended up learning from a different text book. If your university uses this book, it is probably a good idea to take this course somewhere else. This book assumes that you have already taken dynamics and thermodynamics! The problems are not clearly written, so trying to understand the question is often more time consuming than finding the solution.



3. This textbook, is horribly written. It is does not explain concepts and examples in a sequential manner. Would not recommend this book for understanding fluid mechanics.



4. I am only half way through the book so far, however I have noticed from other reviews that many students do not like this book.
   
   In my opinion, I find the book to be very enjoyable to both read and study from. It provides concise derivations for Reynolds Transport Theorem, Bernoulli's Equation, Navier-Stokes Equations and others that are necessary to understand fluid mechanics. The example problems are useful and well laid out. What some students may not like is that the book tends to take a more long winded approach to solving certain problems. However that approach is the proper one when solving more complex fluid mechanic problems.



5. I think this is a decent book to learn fluid mechanics concepts from. There are many examples in the book and it doesn't make the subject as daunting as some other textbooks can make it. I don't really think it was particularly necessary for portions of the textbook to be placed in a CD since I eventually printed out most of the material when I was studying that particular section.

5 comments about Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Analysis and Design.

1. This book is a good source for determining all the design needs for HVAC systems from calculating the heating /cooling load to duct design and fan selection which is essential to assure an economical, energy-efficient, maintainable and flex design that will only not be technically adequate but also meet the user within the allocated budget. I consider this book a key to get in the HVAC industry and a reference for HVAC study courses.



2. This is an excellent HVAC text. The concepts are clearly explained and well developed. The references in the book are current with ASHRAE standards which is of utmost utility and importance. The minor drawback from the text is the simplicity of the examples; fortunately the excellent explanation and development of the concepts by the authors helps in overcoming this small flaw. Excellent book overall. I highly recommend it.



3. This book is equal in quality of content to edition 5 except that the version of edition 6 being sold here does not contain the CD normally included with this textbook. The publisher's web site states "New to this edition (edition 6) is the inclusion of additional realistic, interactive and in-depth examples on CD". This CD would also contain the software that was included with edition 5. According to the publisher's tech support however, the version of edition 6 being sold by Amazon.com is for use under the guidance of an instructor where apparently the material on the CD would not be needed. If this book is for personal use I recommend a version that includes the CD.



4. I am holding beside me a 6th edition with the CD in the back of the book. The 6th edition DOES include a CD, unlike what the previous review wrote. I had to write this so others are not mislead. Maybe some books people are selling don't include it -- what to do? Just ask the seller if their book has a CD with it. Mine does, and others do too.



5. By far the worst text book I've ever had to use. Riddled with errors. Poor and incomplete explanations of complex subject matter. Examples and problems often with errors. Does lead the student into intense studying of content, if only to understand exactly what authors are saying and whether it is correct or not. Included software worthless except for limited use in solving problems in text.
   
   This book should be offered free to India, Japan, and China to give us an edge over their HVAC engineerng expertise.

4 comments about Applied Fluid Mechanics (6th Edition).

1. I am the type of person who generally hates the way that texts are written. I have always said, that if I were to write a text, it would be this way. The whole class talks about this book, we love it at at the University here.



2. This is a great text for technology based fluid mechanics. To elementary for an engineering student, but then it was meant for an engineering technology student. I find it easy to use. My students love it. There are few, if any, technology based fluid mechanics texts available of this caliber. I only wish it were less expensive.



3. The book is very shallow and not worth considering for any engineering or any technical degree. it might be good for high school level pre-engineering classes, but difinetly not at college or university level.



4. This book was the assigned reading material for my engineering technology course. Its primary purpose was to give us an `introduction' to fluid related concepts, and in that area I would say it was very successful. This books writing style is extremely easy to follow, and unlike some of my other textbooks was actually enjoyable to read. It provided step by step instructions on how to solve problems, and also offered more than enough problems for the students to solve themselves. The only issue I have with this book relates to the rather limited examples it provides. In its solutions it illustrates how to solve the simple problems, but negates to do the more complicated ones which sometimes left me clueless on how to proceed. This book is also rather expansive and does not go very deep into the subject.. If your looking for a good introduction book for your course, or some extra learning material this is a great choice. If you're a more advanced reader, I suggest you look elsewhere.

5 comments about An Introduction to Thermal Physics.

1. This text is very well written with clear explanations and succinct abstractions to aid in thinking about the material. The only shortcoming is the lack of worked problems which can be gotten from any other text. If you can't picture the processes of thermo well enough to set up a problem correctly, then give this book a try. I use it along with Baierlein's book and Fermi's Dover version.



2. the time arrived on time, and was in the condition that the seller stated.



3. Great book, scratch that, fantastic book. Compared to my HJ Pain Waves and Vibrations book, it's absolutely incredible. The author goes through each step clearly, and as well as explaining how he does it, explains why he does it. So many books today just give derivations(HJ Pain) and never actually explain why they do them. A must have if your into thermal physics, or if you need it for a class. Probably the latter.



4. As a physics major going back to school after a long hiatus, I needed this book to review for a thermal physics class. I wanted to study on my own in preparation for the course, but I am having trouble with the subject, only because I don't know if my solutions are correct or not. specially the applied problems which have numerical answers, but the book does not provide a way to check them. It reads ok, it could use more examples; I think the author took the easy way out by omitting many examples that could clear up some of the confusions. Answers are a must for any textbook at this level,or any level for that matter.



5. This is probably the one book you wish to look at if you need a quick and phenomenal introduction to Thermal Physics and Statistical Mechanics, and you wish not to pour over the mammoth volumes of Landaus's legendary teatises; I have already been aware of Dan Schroeder through his Field Theory text with Michael Peskin, which made jump to get this one without hesitation for my qualifying exams. The text is lucid and written in a narrative style, which takes away all formidable fears one may have in approaching Statistical Mechanics; the techniques are intuitive and the organization if perfect!

5 comments about Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems.

1. I really like this book a lot. I never went to class for both quarters of my upper-division undergraduate mechanics class, and instead read Thornton and Marion religiously. I've heard friends express their dislike for it, but I think it is very clear and provides excellent perspective and insight. It is very mathematically rigorous, which I appreciate but others may not. The proofs given are typically very readable, although I often skipped over the sort of "obvious" things that the book shows in exquisite detail. Lots of great sections and topics, much interesting material covered, in addition to the basics. Highly recommended.



2. I use this text in my spring sophomore-level mechanics class. There are no perfect texts for this level, but this is the best one out there. The book does assume that you either have a solid base of mathematics or are willing to learn during the course. That's typical in a physics class; you learn mathematics while learning physics, and so its a good introduction to the style of more advanced physics classes. While the chapter on nonlinearity doesn't fit well with the other chapters, and I wish Lagrangian's were moved later in the text, its still a better choice then most other texts for most students. Less mathematically prepared students could use Taylor's text, for example, and more mathematically prepared students should use Goldstein and landau, but this book aims at the middle of lower division physics majors.



3. Pros: Great reference text. The examples are clear and there are generally a lot of them. The notation is generally very readable.
   
   
   Cons: The price. As with almost any physics text, this one is most easily understood if you can compare it to another book of the same level (might I recommend Taylor?) However, the price of this book makes that impractical at best.
   
   This book is a good text. It is one of the first books that physics students encounter after their introductory courses which makes for a very challenging semester. I think that may be why it has recieved so many poor reviews. . .



4. I used this book as a physics undergrad in the mid '90s. Like so many others on this site, my copy of M&T split in half before the semester was even half over. I'd sure love my $80 back plus interest...
   
   I thought some of the later chapters were quite good -- particularly the one on Lagrangian dynamics -- but the first few chapters didn't strike me as particularly well written. More than a decade later, I can still recall a problem in Chapter 2 that wasn't even remotely covered anywhere in the chapter itself. It somehow managed to survive to the 4th edition, and I'd be willing to bet it's in the 5th as well.
   
   There were lots of things I liked about Marion and Thornton, but generally speaking, if students are expected to plunk down this kind of money for texts on fairly venerable topics, the content should be QA-tested, and the book itself should be reasonably well-constructed.



5. They just sent me a CD, not a book. I wanted to have a hard copy!!!! The .pdf file is not worth for the price I paid for.