No comments about Nanophotonics with Surface Plasmons (Advances in Nano-Optics and Nano-Photonics).

No comments about W. T. Koiter's Elastic Stability of Solids and Structures.

No comments about Theory Of Interacting Fermi Systems (Advanced Book Classics).

1 comments about Nondestructive Evaluation: A Tool in Design, Manufacturing, and Service Revised Edition.

1. The work's field is nondestructive evaluation (NDE). NDE contains the instruments which engineers use to detect flaws in structures which function under mechanical stress.

   The work starts off well enough. However,in Chapter 2 it ventures into one's motivation for using NDE. Here, the work founders.

   Why would one use NDE? Because, the authors suggest, a sufficiently small false negative error probability reduces the inspected structure's probability of collapse.

   However, to state the issue this way is to ignore one-half of the requirements of the user of any diagnostic instrument. The full requirement is for sufficiently small false positive and false negative error probabilities.

   However, the reader who searches the literature of NDE for knowledge of the two probabilities will search in vein. This can be said with confidence, for a recent paper demonstrates that NDE violates an axiom of probability theory in relationship to the two probabilities (see "Erratic Measure" (in NDE in the Energy Industry 1995, pp. 1-6. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, NY).

No comments about Nanopathology: The Health Impact of Nanoparticles.

4 comments about Electronic Structure: Basic Theory and Practical Methods.

1. This book was recommended to me to help me in my research, and has turned out to be one of the best recommendations I have ever received. This is a great book; by far the best I have come across on the topic of computing the properties of condensed phase materials by quantum mechanical simulations. Here are the reasons why.

   1. The chapters are well laid out and one chapter flows neatly to the next.

   2. The math is kept to a minimum; the author makes a point of communicating important principles and ideas in concise sentences without resorting to derivations. This is ideal for engineers like me; who by training do not know that much math as compared to physicists who specialize in the solid state.

   3. Important ideas are clarified up front. Many texts will lead the reader through long and windy paths of proofs and logic before arriving at the conclusion; thereby losing their reader in the process. Not here; important points are stated clearly at the beginning and at the end of each section.

   4. Compare, contrast, and context. There are many ideas, models, approximations, and theorems that have been developed in the past century related to electronic structure. Many of these are closely related to each other in their inspiration, derivation, practice, and/or applications. This book makes the connections between the different concepts. For a non-expert reading through the electronic structure literature, terms like APW, OPW, PAW, LAPW, LMTO, etc... can be quite confusing if not placed within an overriding context. This book provides that context.

   5. Good use of appendices. Electronic structure is a lot like politics; most practicioners in either field did not receive formal educations in the subject, but instead got into it under the apprenticeship of other people. This is reflected by a lot of literature by those who succeeded in the field; most of it good in showing of the authors' achievements, but generally useless in preparing the next generation of practicioners. For electronic structure, this is manifested by the many books that require prior knowledge of quantum, thermo, crystallography, mat sci, etc.. In effect, these books were written by experts to be read by other experts. Not this book. Basic ideas are kept in the text; and specific proofs and derivations are kept in the appendices. The result is a text that is much easier to read than most others.

   6. The book is concept driven; not application driven. Most texts in materials simulations are actually a compilation of chapters written independently by multiple authors. Each chapter might be given a general title; but the text will be bias towards the research of its authors. For example, a chapter on surface calculations might focus entirely on adsorption, or relaxation/reconstruction, or optical properties; but surely not touching all these subjects. This book does not do this; each chapter is driven by basic concepts, and one concept leads to the next.

   In all, this is a great textbook and a handy reference book. I highly recommend it.




2. Although the topics the book embrasses are current and essential for practising chemists, physisists and materials scientists the pedagogic care with which it explains some of the topics is poor.
   
   The author makes the assumption that the reader is familiarized with the heavy mathematical formalism and notation which is commonplace in specialized physics articles but fails to remember that graduate students that don't have a physics background, and come from other schools of thought such as chemistry, biochemistry or materials science, might be target readers.
   
   For instance the book's introduction to Hartree-Fock theory must be the most complicated I've ever seen with constant recourse to Dirac's delta function (without even revealing its presence, stating simply that it should be there). The link between DFT and statistical thermodynamics although interesting is not essential for the heart of the discussion. Some classic program applications like Siesta are presented but you get the feeling that it's just for show off.
   
   All in all if you're a physicist with some years of experience in the field of planewave computation you might find the book interesting.
   
   Otherwise if you're a beginner like me forget it! The book by Efthimios Kaxiras (Atomic and Electronic Structure of Solids) is more revealing and pedagogic and supplies every detail in the mathematical formalism. Some physicists with a more chemical sensitivity such as Harrison, chemists such as Roald Hoffmann, Jeremy Burdett or Michael Springborg or materials scientists like Adrian Sutton or David Pettifor are better suited for the novice.



3. As a graduate student attempting to learn density functional theory and its use in computer programmes, I have found this book to be an excellent addition to my library. Well structured and written.



4. I like this book and would recommend it to any beginner into density functional theory. It explains all the modern electronic structure techniques in a rather simple language. Its much more easier and quicker than going into hundreds of papers and not knowing where to start.
   
   The biggest issue with this book is a rather poor organisational structure to the book. That's why I've given it a 4/5 rating. There are some concepts that have been easily thrown in at the end, into the appendices.. and having to turn pages too frequently can be annoying.
   
   But the good work has been done & I'd ask Mr Martin to re-organise the content.
   
   This book has the potential to be a classic.

1 comments about Carbon Nanotubes and Related Structures.

1. The new book by Peter Harris reviews the properties of carbon nanotubes and clarifies their promise as revolutionary new materials for the XXI century. Harris has written a most readable and useful book, which contains a wealth of up-to-date information for specialists and non-specialists. The book highlights the main challenges that have to be overcome if carbon-based nanotube technology is to fulfil the exciting, indeed revolutionary, promise that the already-known properties forecast........Times Higher Educational Supplement

1 comments about An Introduction to Electrospinning and Nanofibers.

1. There are only a few books that discuss these topics and only in one or two chapters. This book brings a fair review of the theory of electrospinning and some of the current state of the technology in one reference. I felt like the work of some research groups was not discussed or even mentioned. A problem that many of these books have and make you question its "sientific neutrality or objectivity (sorry if I mispelled)." Good for a first read into the topic and as a starting point for a literature review.
   
   Now some comments not related to the content. Even someone whose first language is not english (like me), can not ignore the large ammount of typos and grammatical errors. I could not control myself and ended up reading and correcting the errors with a red pen. Some people may be put-off by this. I got the paperback edition which has a fair price (compared to other books that you may pay more and get the same quality). The hardback is not worth it.

5 comments about Advanced Strength and Applied Elasticity.

1. As an Aerospace Engineer (structures), I found this to be the one book that remains on my shelf. It has valid and accurate ACEDEMIC explanations of structural systems - but it does not lend itself to practical implementation of those methods...and many other books do! If this book is supplementing a curriculum, it will serve its purpose well. However, if you actually plan to use what you've learned - not here.
   
   For a book that fits the requirements of application, please refer to "Practical Sress Analysis for Design Engineers", Flabel (ISBN 0-9647014-0-5)



2. First few chapters are well treated but advanced topics are not covered in detail.For example, beams on elastic foundation chapter is not covered extensively.To conclude,anyone interested in advanced mechanics of materials should own it.



3. Many Engineering text books lately do not seem to be written well. I feel that this is not the fault of the authors as much as it is the fault of the editor. This book overall is not in my worst text book list, but can be improved very easily. I have given it a 2 star rating, meaning that it still can be improved upon and until it is improved it is a difficult book to follow.

   The problems with this book are:
   1. Example problems are not included in the text in a sequential order. Instead a concept is introduced and five pages later there is an example problem with that material. The example problems should be there to reinforce the theoretical material. When it is so many pages later it is difficult to know what the example is trying to show.

   2. There are too many formulas included in text lines. Formulas should be written in a formula type instead of included within a paragraph. When it is in the paragraph it makes it difficult to follow.

   3. Topic names and definitions of concepts should be highlighted so the reader can easily go from one topic to another with a better understanding of the material.

   4. As I am reading the text I have made my own illustrations for my own study. I therefore believe that the editor, with an understanding of the material, could have been able to include illustrations.

   5. There is a constant reference to formulas written in previous chapters. Just rewrite the formula if it is so important to the understanding of the material. Instead the reader is in a constant state of turning pages. I am glad this book has a good binding.

   To the authors: Since I am attending your University, Please do not take my criticism personally. Instead, listen to my fellow students when the review time comes about our course.




4. I don't understand what the other reviewers are talking about, I find this book a lifesaver for my Deformable Solids course, because the authors take the time to explain the formulas they put in the book with real words. I appreciate that the formulas are in the text and not coldly thrown at you in a scary cluster, making the concepts much easier to understand thoroughly.
   I found the information easy to find and I think the examples are great, with detailed and explained solutions.
   Finally a book that cares about "how" and "why" instead of just "what".



5. I'm a student in mechanical engineering, and I recently took a class called Advanced Mechanics of Materials. Unfortunately, this book was the required textbook for the course. I know that a lot of text books can be considered "bad", but this is by far the worst textbook I have ever used.
   
   Ideally a textbook will explain concepts well and give relevant examples to reinforce the concepts. The textbook does neither. This textbook explains concepts extremely poorly which makes it bad enough. On top of that, moreover, this book does not give examples for 90% of the concepts.
   
   If this book is the required text for a course, I would recommend changing classes. If you're looking for a book on advanced mechanics of materials, this is NOT a good book to consider. I would have given this book zero stars if that had been an option.

No comments about Nanomaterials Chemistry: Recent Developments and New Directions.